


The Legend of Anju

by Edrobot



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, NaNoWriMo, NaNoWriMo 2019
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-24 15:28:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 27,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21640213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edrobot/pseuds/Edrobot
Summary: What would happen if the Hero of Time never became the Savior of Termina?Kafei Dotour, a young man stuck in the body of a child, seeks to track down the masked man who cursed him. But unbeknownst to Kafei, the masked man is also the target of Maximillian Forthwind, an Inquisitor from the mighty empire of Lorule. These two souls, alongside Maximillian's Iron Knuckle bodyguard Jade and a fairy named Opal, soon find themselves in a desperate struggle for the fate of Termina, Lorule... and perhaps the realms beyond!
Relationships: Anju/Kafei (Legend of Zelda), Kafei/Majora (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	1. Dawn of the First Day

# Chapter 1: Dawn of the First Day

According to _Alminak of Termina,_ though small in size, the Free State of Clock Town was a busling hub of trade and commerce. Situated a mere day’s journey between four neighboring regions (only three of which were inhabited), its primary imports were metal, fish, and lumber, and exported both crops and finished goods, most notably the famous “Terminan Clock”. 

While interesting, Inquisitor Maximillian Forthwind found this to be frustratingly unhelpful. His carriage was fast approaching the city gates, and had very little idea where to start his investigation. Of all the books he had brought with him from the royal library, the only ones he had yet to read were libram of local legends and a chronicle of the history of Ikana, and the inquisitor had serious doubts that fairy tales and fallen kingdoms would have the answers he sought.

Speaking of fairies, that was another thing that was putting him on edge; his bodyguard kept a bottled fairy in a sash worn around his waist, whose glow kept the inquisitor up at night. Apparently it’s supposed to be good luck, due to an old legend of a soldier who fell in battle being brought back to life by their fairy’s magic. 

Utter nonsense, of course; even if a singular fairy had the power to revive the dead, they would have nothing but antipathy for their captor. But soldiers tended to cling to superstition, and few could dispute the prowess of the Iron Knuckles, the Empress’s own hand-picked elite troops. sitting across from the inquisitor was named “Jade”, apparently. And though he stood as tall as a Gerudo, he was apparently born in Termina. You would think the soldier would have something to say about this, returning to his homeland and all, but the armored figure spent most of the journey sitting motionless, pausing only to examine his fairy.

Now that he thought about it, it was odd that the fairy had remained silent; supposedly they could be quite talkative…

Just then, the carriage came to a sudden stop, throwing the inquisitor and his many books out of his seat and onto the floor of the carriage. 

“Sorry, yer excellency!” the carriage-driver hollered. “There’s quite a lot of traffic ‘erebouts!”

Rising to his feet, the inquisitor poked his head out of the carriage to examine his surroundings, and found that they were parked in a massive city square, where carpenters, craftsmen and merchants were busy scuttling between setting up all manner of stalls and pavilions. But dominating his view was The Clock Tower, the famous, transforming monument by which Clock Town had received its namesake. As the mid-morning bells chimed, the inquisitor took a moment to stare at its colorful, ever-shifting face standing in stark contrast to the clear blue sky. 

For a moment, he felt like there was nothing else in the universe; just him, the sky, and the clock. But soon the chimes fell away, and the cacophony of the city returned, causing his attention to turn to a group of construction workers bickering about something petty inconsequential, holding up traffic as they argued with the foreman.

“They must be setting up for the Carnival of Time...” the inquisitor sighed. He just knew that something like this would happen. If he had his way he would have sent a messenger to inform the lord-mayor of his arrival, so that a path could be cleared ahead of time. Alas, the urgency of the situation didn’t leave him with many options. 

“Thank you, Lawrance, we’ll continue on foot from here,” he said to the horseman. “Once you find suitable lodgings, I expect you to meet us at city hall. Do I make myself clear?”

“No sweat, guv- I mean, your excellency,” Lawrance said, tipping his hat.

“Indeed,” the inquisitor said, stepping out of the carriage, beckoning Jade to follow him. The inquisitor wasn’t particularly fond of Lawrence in the brief time they had traveled together, but he kept quiet out of appreciation for the driver’s enthusiasm. After all, good help was hard to come by.

* * *

“...I’m erm, sorry, but I’m afraid I can’t really help you,” Lord-Mayor Jaques Dotuor said, wiping his brow a handkerchief. He was a nervous looking man with olive skin and purple hair, who looked uncomfortable in a suit that was too large for his spindly frame. “This is a very bad time you see. The Festival of Time is only days away, and, well, I’ve got my own crisis on my hands. Well, two crises, really, depending on how you count but, erm...” his eyes nervously shifted towards the Iron Knuckle, who seemed to loom over conversation despite standing in the back of the room. “But it’s personal, really, and far beneath someone of your, erm, stature.” 

The inquisitor, calm as always, took a deep breath and sighed. “So that’s the way it’s going to be, then?” he said. “We remain allies with you for decades. We respect your autonomy, provide you weapons to defend your borders, purchase gods know how many of your famous clocks.” Maximillian twirled the end of his pencil-thin mustache. “And yet. You refuse us when we ask for the simplest of requests? A request, I might add, that comes directly from the Eternal Empress herself?” a wicked grin spread over his face. “I admit, I’m quite disappointed in you.”

The weak-kneed mayor immediately broke into a flop sweat. “N-no! Please!” he stammered, “I m-must have misspoke! I was just- my son, and the festival, and I-”

The inquisitor held up a finger, cutting off the mayor’s babble. “Oh I understand completely,” he chuckled. “Stress makes fools of us all. And I can’t imagine asking you to make a decision under such pressure.” He began stepping back towards the office door, continuing to smile as he did so. “So tell you what. How about we sleep on it, and I’ll come back early tomorrow to discuss matters further?”

Mayor Dotour nodded weakly, his mind reeling with the possibilities, imagining the devastation that a war between Termina and the Empire could bring. Cities lying in ruins, fields and villages set ablaze, the sky turning black with the ashes of the fallen… to the mayor, refusing the empire would be to consign his people to death.

It was all a bluff, of course. Maximillian had no intention of declaring war on anyone. And even if the Empire wasn’t still reeling from the events of the capitol, it’s not like he had the authority to declare war in the first place. 

Was it cruel? Most certainly. And admittedly, he probably could have done without the literal mustache twirling. But his mission was too urgent to bother with red tape.

After all, someone had murdered the Eternal Empress of Lorule.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anyone asks, let be clear about a few things right out of the gate:
> 
> * This is an alternate universe where Link never came to Termina in Majora's Mask.
> * Termina and Lorule are different countries in the same world. The Inquisitors of Lorule call the world as whole "Perdition", but most people don't refer to the world by any specific name.
> * The pointy-eared folk of Termina and Lorule are simply called "humans", rather than "Terminans" or "Lorulians".


	2. Night of the First Day

Kafei Dotour should have been happy. He should have been at a bachelor party with his friends, guzzling down pints of milk and swapping stories about his fiance. 

He would have started how they first met. It was years ago, when a cucco flown into the mayor’s office in the middle of an important meeting, only for a flustered young young girl to burst into city hall, anxiously looking for her pet. Kafei had been the one who put two and two together, and the girl was ecstatic to be reunited with her precious cucco. 

From there, he would weave a tale about how his childhood friendship eventually blossomed into romance, his narratives gradually losing focus as the brandy began to kick in before stumbling off his bar stool in a chorus of laughter.

But he wasn’t telling those stories. He was sitting in the back of the Curiosity Shop for the last week, listening to the owner argue with a particularly furious customer. Gerant, the owner of the shop, was a friend of Kafei's, one that he trusted enough that he would show him the horrible state he'd found himself in. Kafei had been cursed into the form of his young childhood. He was no stronger than a puppy and could barely look over the counter that he and his friend had drank many a toast over.The customer was demanding that he return something that had been stolen, while Gerant insisted that he was a completely legitimate business.

Which was a lie, of course. It was hardly a secret that Gerant’s store occasionally peddled in stolen goods, but he usually made sure to rip the thief off and offer "to return the stolen property in exchange for a reasonable "finder's fee" in compensation."

“You FOOL!” the man said. “If that mask falls into the wrong hands, you have no idea the destruction that will be wrought!”

“Uh-huh,” Gerant said. “Listen mate, I think you’ve had a bit too much to drink.”

“NO, YOU LISTEN!” the customer roared, “that mask was imprisoned in the boundary between worlds! It is a thing of chaos! A bringer of destruction! A dispenser of curses most foul!”

Kafei’s ears perked up. All this talk of masks and curses can’t be a coincidence. He scooted off his chair, began dragging it towards the peephole.

“It may promise great power,” the customer fumed, “but it exerts a corrupting influence! It can twist even the purest soul to madness, until the wearer is nothing more than a vessel for the mask’s dark will!”

Slowly, Kafei climbed up onto the chair, and looked through the peephole to try and get a better view of the customer…

...only to find the creepy, grinning face of the customer staring right back at him.

“GEYAHH!” Kafei yelped, falling over in fright with the chair toppling after him.

“Oh, I see…” the customer chuckled. “You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”

* * *

There was an odd charisma to the strange, smiling man. One moment, he was shouting, the next he was calm and serene. And even though Gerant had been a hair’s breadth away from calling the guards, Gerant stood aside as the smiling man stepped into the back room and coaxed Kafei into explaining the circumstances of his curse. Despite his unease, the words flowed from Kafei’s mouth as he described the mask in the most exacting detail.

“I see…” the smiling man said. “Well. As it turns out, that mask belongs to me. And I’d very much like it back,” he continued to grin. “So. How about we make a deal? Bring me the mask, and I’ll break your curse. How does that sound?”

At one, a million questions swirled around in Kafei’s head. Who was this man? Why would the mask be any more safe with him? Why does the man think he’d be in any position to find it? What is the mask even called?

But none of these questions arrived at Kafei’s lips. Instead, he found himself saying. “...I guess that sounds fine.”

“Good!” The strange man clapped his hands together. “We have a deal then. Now, if you excuse me, I’ll just be going.”

And then, just as suddenly as he arrived, the man left.

An awkward silence filled the room, as Kafei and Gerant struggled to try to understand what just happened. 

“Oy… I need a drink,” Gerant said, massaging his temples. “You want anything? I mean, you’re still a kid and all, but-”

“I’m good,” Kafei said. “Do you think that man was telling the truth? About breaking the curse, I mean.”

“What, are you saying the crazy psycho-killer-looking guy who burst in screaming about a mask that would destroy the world might not be on the up-and-up?” Gerant said, pouring himself a glass of unidentifiable liquor. “I dunno what that guy’s game is, but he smells like a grifter to me.”

Kafei bit his lip. “Yeah, but...”

“And let’s say he was telling the truth? Then what?” Gerant continued. “He said that mask had some serious mojo behind it. So what are you gonna do if you find the thief, ask him politely to give it back?”

Kafei said nothing. 

“Look, just forget about the curse, okay? Some folks would give an arm and a leg to be a kid again.” Gerant rubbed his bald spot self-consciously. “I know I would,” he continued. “And if the curse keeps you from getting older? Then bam, that makes you immortal. So how about we just go home, explain things to the old man, talk things out with Anjie, maybe postpone the wedding for a few days...” 

Kafei paused. "I...can't," he said, with an air of mounting desperation. "I can't marry Anju."

“Oh for the love of…” Gerant shook his head. “Look, I know Anjie’s family wouldn’t be all too keen on the idea of her marrying a guy that looks half her age, but trust me; it’s less creepy than if it was the other way around.”

“No… you don’t understand,” Kafei said, his voice quivering. “Anju… gone.”

Gerant blinked, and he put his mug down. “Well… shit,” he said. “What do you mean, ‘gone’?”

Kafei trembled as he relived the events of the previous night, haltingly, between long pauses and nervous swallows. “The masked man… he was waiting for me there, in Anju’s room. There was blood everywhere, and...” his eyes remained wide open, as his breath began to quicken. “He just laughed. He called me by my name and laughed. And laughed. And laughed! I can’t get that laugher it out of my head! It was—” with another deep breath, Kafei began to calm down. “I guess… that was when he cursed me. I didn’t even notice until I made it to the bazaar...”

Gerant was left speechless. “Shit… man, I had no idea things were that fucked up.” The shop owner pushed aside his drunk, and clutched his forehead. “For fuck’s sake… I mean… I was joking about the serial killer, but… gods…”

“It’s not your fault,” Kafei said. “It’s… that mask. It’s at the center of all this. I just know it!” he clutched his child-sized fists in a quiet rage. “I’m... going to find whoever has that mask. And I’m going to kill them.”


	3. Dawn of the 2nd Day

Inquisitor Maximillian Forthwind sat in the waiting room of city hall, trying to look calm and collected in spite of the bags under his eyes. Despite Lawrence’s best efforts, not only were all the inns full due to the upcoming carnival, forcing him to sleep in the carriage, but the flickering glow from his bodyguard’s fairy lead him to another restless night. After hours of trying to fall asleep, he abandoned any pretense of getting shut-eye, and instead spent his time gathering information at the so-called ‘milk bar’, leaving the Iron Knuckle behind.

Time well spent, as it turned out. As unpleasant as he found the taste of milk mixed with bourbon (a local specialty, allegedly), he always found that a steady flow of alcohol would loosen any lips, even those who wouldn’t normally talk to a Lorulean Inquisitor. As it turns out, the town was abuzz with gossip regarding the lord-mayor's son, who recently disappeared alongside his commoner bride-to-be. Supposedly the bride’s mother wasn’t fond of the young Mr. Dotour, leading some to believe that the two had eloped in secret. It was a sappy, overly romantic notion… but given the age of the young lovers, it was all too possible that this was indeed the truth.

As he considered how to work this situation to his advantage, he couldn’t help but overhear the conversation in the next room, between the timid lord-mayor and an overbearing woman that he presumed from context was the lord-mayor’s wife.

“...but you told him about our darling little boy, didn’t you, dear?”

“W-well, no not exactly.”

“Well why ever not?”

“H-he’s a very busy man, I’m sure.  _ Very  _ busy. Most likely on, erm, royal business.”

“Well if he’s going to barge in and act like he owns the place, then the least he can do is keep an eye out for my dear, sweet baby.”

“I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea-”

“Oh hush dear; if you don’t have the nerve I’ll just go talk to him myself!”

“N-no! Please!”

And with that, the doors to the lord-mayor’s office flew open, and a cheerfully rotund woman stepped out, clutching a small package wrapped in tissue paper and trailed by her quivering husband.“Well, speak of the gods!” the woman said, looking directly at Maximillian. “You must be the Inquisitor I’ve heard so much about.”

“Yes, I suppose I would be. And who are you, exactly?” the Inquisitor said, feigning ignorance.

“Madame Marthe Aroma-Dotour,” the woman said, extending her hand in a polite greeting. “I believe you have met my husband already?”

“Indeed I have,” the Inquisitor replied, gently kissing her ring finger in a manner befitting a noblewoman. “It is an honor to have met you both, madame.”

“Oh-ho, you flatterer!” the woman said playfully. “Now, I’m sure you have important matters to discuss with my husband, but may I ask you a teensy, tiny favor?”

“But of course!” Maximillian replied, “Anything, for a lovely rose like yourself.”

The woman giggled once again. “It’s my son, you see; he’s gone missing, and-”

“Ah, say no more; I am already on the case. Your son has no doubt eloped with his fiance, surely seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, as well as to escape the disapproval of his overbearing mother in law.” He tapped his forehead. “Believe me, madame. Your son is perfectly safe.”

Madam Aroma sighed with relief. “Oh thank goodness… but where could he have gone?” 

“That, I cannot say. But I assure you that if I run across him on my travels, you will be the first to know.”

“Of course, of course!” Madame Aroma smiled, and handed him a package. “But just in case, take this with you. Perhaps… it will help you find him?”

As he clutched the package in his hands, the Inquisitor could make out a rigid, bowl-like shape; a mask, no doubt. He had heard about this tradition; masks made in the likeness of the lost or departed, crafted in hopes that their spirits would be drawn towards their loved ones. It was an odd superstition, but it would hardly become him to reject it outright.

“Anything’s possible, madame,” the Inquisitor said, gracefully bowing in response. “Now, as I said, there are matters most important for me to discuss with your husband.”

“And I’m sure he’ll do everything he can to help you. Isn’t that right dear?” Madam Aroma said, addressing her husband in a tone that brooked no refusal.

“Erm… yes. I suppose so…” -Lord-Mayor Dotour replied, nervously twiddling his fingers.

“That’s all I ask, dear,” Madame Aroma said, kissing him on the cheek before cheerfully sauntering away.

And thus, Maximillian had the lord-mayor exactly where he wanted him. Not only did the lord-mayor have the implied threat of Lorule looming over him, but even worse, he had been given an all but direct order from his wife. Even without the former, he could tell the henpecked husband would be helpless before the latter.

“Now,” the Inquisitor said, exuding a sinister air, “let’s get down to business.”

* * *

“The empress is dead?!” the lord-mayor sputtered in shock. 

“Indeed.” the Inquisitor solemnly replied. “One week ago, a masked sorcerer of immense power appeared before the royal court, and began slaughtering all that were present, including her highness, the Eternal Empress Hilda Adfinitum Lorule.” He shook his head, trying to get the image of the blood-stained hall out of his mind. “Our mages, our knights… no one stood a chance against the masked one. Yet as soon as the empress was dead, he fled the castle, soaring through the sky by the very same magics that he used to instigate his slaughter.” The Inquisitor took a deep breath. “From there, I was tasked by the empress with bringing the blackguard to justice. And by piecing together the accounts of eyewitnesses, I was eventually able to track him all the way to Termina. Clock Town, to be precise.”

“But… um… there’s something I don’t quite understand,” the lord-mayor said, cautiously. “...you said that you’re here on the empress’s authority… but didn’t you say she was dead?”

The Inquisitor nodded. “Well, there’s a reason she’s called the ‘Eternal’ Empress.” He took a step towards the window, looking out at Clock Town. “It’s a story every child in Lorule knows. The fickle gods who created this world cursed our Empress with an unending existence. An endless loop of death and rebirth, carrying nothing with her but her well trodden soul.” He sighed, thinking back on the Empress's latest rebirth. “Were it not for our science, she would she would still be trapped in this cycle of reincarnation. Whenever she dies, we use a machine to create a new body for her soul to inhabit. And while most of her knowledge is lost in the process, the journals left by her previous incarnations fill in the gaps in her memories, while her cognition is brought up to speed through an intensive curriculum.”

Maximillian paused to let the lord-mayor absorb this information. Admittedly, his story sounded like the ravings of a madman. Indeed, he was once skeptical himself, thinking the stories were little more than self-aggrandizing propaganda. But he had personally witnessed the death of the empress. He saw her former body, old and decrepit yet sustained by advanced Yigan prosthetics, casting spells and glyphs against the Masked One’s assault. And when her all-but fully mechanized body began to crack under the strain, she drew from the accursed power of the “Triforce” that she so despised, driving back the Masked One at the cost of her life. 

_ Ambitio Tripotentiae. _ The Triforce of Ambition. He’d never be able to forget the image of that obsidian relic, that dying curse of spiteful gods. Its unleashed power caused almost as much destruction as the Masked One himself. And yet, when the dust cleared, Masked One was still standing. And the empress had fallen. 

“Erm… you said it was a ‘Masked’ sorcerer, correct?” the lord-mayor asked, snapping Maximillian out of his grim recollections. 

“Indeed.” the Inquisitor said. “And not just any mask; a very specific mask, which we believe to be the source of his power.”

He removed a vellum scroll from his sleeve, and unfurled it for the lord-mayor to see. He hardly looked at it himself, for it was an illustration of the mask worn by the sorcerer, which the trauma of the Masked One’s rampage had seared into the Inquisitor's mind. It didn’t resemble a face so much as a disfigured heart, it’s lower half covered in symmetrical rows of spikes in varying colors, with two more spikes on the upper half in parallel to each other to form a crude pair of horns. The mask was painted purple and red, with hilighlights in green, yellow and orange. But aside from the horns and spikes, its only identifiable features were a pair of large, glowing eyes, pried wide open in a way that resemble neither man nor beast. One might say that it was the visage of a demon, yet even demons seldom had such an abstract, inhuman form. 

“Majora’s Mask,” the Inquisitor said. “That’s what it was called in the only record we could find; a folk tale about an unnamed tribe fashioning the skull of a god into mighty weapon, a ‘mask of many colors’ that brought ruin and destruction upon its wearer’s enemies.” He gently handed the scroll to the lord-mayor. “Regardless of the veracity of the story, or whether this is even the mask the story speaks of, it’s clear that this mask is a source of great power.”

“O-oh dear…” The lord-mayor gulped. “This does look, erm… rather familiar.”

“...it does?” the Inquisitor raised an eyebrow.

“Y-yes.” The lord-mayor trembled, “We, erm. Before my son’s fiance disappeared… there was a…” the lord-mayor then paused, as if second guessing himself. “On second thought maybe it’s not that important…”

The Inquisitor pounded on the desk. “Damn it, fool! We don’t have time for this!” he shouted. “What are you talking about?!”

“Well um. There was a report of a murder at the Stock Pot Inn,” the lord-mayor stammered. “We’re still investigating it, but… well, some witnesses said someone was wearing a…peculiar mask?”

The Inquisitor stared intently at the frightened lord-mayor. “I see,” he said after a short time. “And where, exactly, is this inn located?”

* * *

After badgering the lord-mayor into signing a missive to investigate, Inquisitor Maximillian sent Lawrence to fetch both the carriage as well as his bodyguard. The three of them reconvened on the eastside of Clock Town, where the town guard was assembled in front of the entrance. 

“Oh, uh, you must be the Inquisitor!” the guard said, giving Maximillian and his seven-foot bodyguard a wary salute.

“Indeed I am,” Maximillian said, curtly holding up the missive from the lord-mayor. “Has there been a forensics report yet?”

“The what now?” the guard replied. 

“Never mind.” Maximillian shook his head at the state of rural law enforcement. “Just tell me that you’ve preserved the crime scene.”

“Well, we haven’t cleaned it, if that’s what you mean,” the guard said. “The carnival of time has kept us really busy, you understand-”

“No, that will be all,” Maximillian sighed. He glanced to the side, and spotted a purple-haired kid in a childish fox mask, only for him to dart away moments later. “Thank the gods that your general incompetence didn’t make things worse.”

“Um… thank you?” the guard replied.

Maximillian and Jade entered the inn, only to find it eerily quiet. This silence gave Maximillian a perfect opportunity to reflect on the facts of the case, which the lord-mayor had briefed him on prior to his arrival. 

Anju, the alleged victim, had lived with her mother and grandmother. But according to the lord-mayor, they were not present at the incident, and besides, they had an alibi. The Inquisitor would have interviewed them anyway, but they were staying with friends out of town until things blew over. And given the sheer power of the Masked One, Maximillian found it unlikely that an innkeeper and her ailing mother would be deeply involved. 

The most reliable eyewitness testimony came from a slow-talking Goron who was sleeping outside the inn all week, due to apparently getting his reservation mixed up with someone else. One week ago, he said he was awoken by an inhuman scream coming from the second floor, followed by giggling laughter. He didn’t bother to check the time had apparently went back to sleep after that, but further witnesses pinned the time to 9:15 PM. Other witnesses still claimed claim that they saw a figure in a distinctive, heart-shaped mask wandering around town around 10:00 PM, but thought nothing of it since they didn't witness the scream, and many people wore masks around the time of the Carnival.

_ “Memory is fallible, of course,” _ Maximillian reminded himself.  _ “But the events following the incident seem quite clear. The question is… what happened beforehand?” _

He climbed up the staircase, Jade’s full-plated footsteps thundering behind him, and walked down the hallway to the door of the room where the crime took place. Upon opening the door, his nostrils were assaulted with an overpowering stench of rot and decay, as a grisly scene stretched out before him. The floor of the tiny room was stained in blood, splattered with flesh and viscera. Feathers from a torn pillow lay strewn about, no doubt from a last ditch effort by the victim to defend herself. Whatever happened here was the work of an animal. No, worse; most animals don’t kill for sport. Whoever did this was clearly enjoying the destruction they wrought.

At that moment, a chill ran down Maximillian’s spine. He had told Madame Aroma that her son and daughter in law were both okay, that they had simply followed their hearts and eloped like young lovers are known to do. But now, he wasn’t so sure. All signs pointed to this being the place where Anju died. What was he supposed to say to that hopeful mother, whom he had cursed with such a false hope? How would Maximilian even begin to explain that her daughter in law, that innocent beacon of light, was brutally murdered by a crazed killer, torn limb from limb by psychopath of the highest order- 

_ “Hold on a second…” _ he thought.  _ “If this was where Anju died… shouldn’t there be a lot more blood?” _

He took another look at the remains. Though it was spread out pretty far, there couldn’t have been more than a cup or two of blood altogether. And while the flesh was well within the process of rotting, the bones he could find looked far too small to belong to a person. Furthermore, despite initially assuming the feathers came from a torn pillow, not only was the pillow in tact, but upon tearing it open he discovered that the feathers inside were soft, fluffy down, while the ones on the floor had stiff quills like the outer feathers of a living bird.

It was when he looked underneath the bed that he finally put it all together. Lying there, with a shocked across it’s avian face, was the head of a Cuuco. And not only that, but there was a small, bloodstained collar sitting nearby, upon which the word “Princess” was inscribed in cursive letters.  _ “It wasn’t Anju that died here…” _ he thought.  _ “...It was her pet.” _

While somewhat relieved at this revelation, it also made Maximillian feel like a fool. And as he reflected on the larger picture, it made even less sense. What would the Masked One even gain from having killed, or at least tormented, this poor innkeeper's daughter? 

And, more importantly, why would the Masked One go to Lorule immediately afterwards, assuming he was the one who did the killing? He already knew that the Masked One possessed the power of flight, so making it to Lorule and back would have been easy enough. But his actions implied that he had a grudge against Hilda in particular. So why in Perdition did the Empress send him specifically? What could he do that an immortal being cursed with the power of the gods could not?

He glanced over at Jade, who was still standing there, seemingly unfazed by grisly scene. The Inquisitor noticed, however, that the sash that contained his fairy bottle was covered up. Did he have a part in this? After all, the empress appointed Jade by name as the Inquisitor’s bodyguard. Was there something the empress was keeping from him?

_ “No, that wouldn’t make sense,” _ he thought, playing with his mustache.  _ “Withholding information would only make my job harder, and gods know it’s hard enough as it is. And if she thought I was a threat to her power I’d be dead by this point.” _

But then, the Inquisitor noticed something by Jade’s feet; a tiny spot of blood on the ground behind Jade, next to a loose nail. Lighting a candle to get a better look, he saw another one. And yet another still. Looking down the hallway, he spotted faint traces of dried blood leading down the hallway towards the stairs.  _ “Could this be our killer?” _ he thought.  _ “No… they’re too close together, like the steps of a child. A child running from something...” _

He followed the trail all the way down to the kitchen, where it lead towards the back door.

_ “So there’s another witness,” _ the Inquisitor thought.  _ “Somewhere in the city, there’s a child that’s seen too much.” _ He anxiously bit his thumb, as he recalled the kid in the fox mask.  _ “Hopefully, I’m not too late to find him.” _

  
  



	4. Night of the 2nd Day

_“Dear Mother and Father,_

_I know that you must be worried about me, seeing as I vanished so suddenly. Rest assured that, at the time of writing this letter, I am still very much alive. I am seeking the man who killed Anju, and I am not entirely certain that I will make it out of this ordeal._

_If I do not return in a month, please tell Anju’s mother and grandmother that we have fled the city, to start a farm in eastern Lorule, like Anju always wanted. I would rather they go on hating me, than know that their daughter was butchered at the hands of a-”_

“Yo, little man! Over here!” Gerant snapped to get Kafei’s attention. “I asked if you learned anything during your little errand today?”

“Oh, right,” Kafei said, putting down his quill. After spending all week cooped up in the back of the shop, he’d finally picked up the nerve to do a bit of investigating. He was in disguise, of course; no one would think twice about a kid in a Keaton mask, especially around Carnival. “Well… nothing too out of the ordinary,” he said, “I saw a man in a strange robe, and another man in armor… I think someone said he was an inquisitor?”

“What, you mean like from Lorule or something?” Gerant replied, scratching his head. “Must be pretty serious if those snobs are involved.”

Kafei sighed. “My dad probably called in a few favors… or maybe it was mom. I don’t know.” He looked mornfully at a half-finished letter.

“It’s still not too late to go home,” Gerant said, gently. “I mean, you can stay here as long as you like, but sooner or later they ought to know you’re still alive.”

Kafei stewed in silence. “It’s just that-”

But before he could finish his sentence, there was a knock on the front door.

“Hold up, got a customer to take care of.” Gerant got up from his seat, put on his dark glasses, and went to man his storefront. “Ah, hey Sakon! Long time no see. I thought they ran you out of town.”

“Oh don’t worry about that,” the new customer replied with a nervous giggle. “But wait until you see what I’ve got!” After a faint rummaging sound, Kafei heard something metallic plunk onto the curiosity shop’s counter. 

“Well well, what do we have here?” Gerant said. “It’s quite a _mask_ , isn’t it?”

With that, Kafei’s ears picked up. He scurried over to the peephole, and climbed on top of the chair to look through it, and his eyes widened when he saw the scene before him. On one side was a bald man with a nervous smile. A quivering smile, very different from the frozen grin of last night’s visitor. And on the other side was Gerant, examining a golden mask with the visage of a sun... the very same mask Kafei was supposed to wear on his wedding day.

“Yes, it’s very fine mask… for a kid, at least,” Gerant said, briefly winking to Kafei. “I’ll give you twenty rupees.”

“What?!” Sakon replied. “But it’s made of gold!”

“Common mistake. It’s actually gold leaf on pewter,” Gerant lied, tapping a rupee against the mask, making a distinctive ringing sound that made him seem authoritative.

“But after all the trouble I went through to get this!” he sputtered.

“Yeah yeah, crime might pay but it doesn’t pay well,” Gerant said, putting the mask under his arm, and reaching into his rupee pouch.

“Actually, I think I might just hold onto it for now...” Sakon said, taking the mask back from Gerant.

“Geeze, you’re really twisting my arm here,” Gerant said, grimacing. “Tell you what, I’ll give you thirty rupees.”

“Forty,” said Sakon.

“Fifty,” Gerant countered, crossing his arms. “No, seventy! And only then because I like your moxie.”

“Deal!” Sakon said, exchanging the mask for a handful of Rupees.

Gerant waited until the thief was out of earshot, before returning to the back room, mask in hand. “So… uh… I guess we found something?”

Kafei frowned. “You said his name was Sakon?” he said, grimly.

Gerant sighed. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t jump to conclusions; he’s a thief, not a murderer.”

“Then how did he get the mask?!” Kafei shouted. “It was supposed to be delivered to Anju!”

“Did she even have the mask in the first place?” Gerant asked, trying to sound reasonable. “Like, I get it; you want vengeance for Anjie and honestly I’m right there with you. But maybe before you go and get your vigilante justice we should figure out whether you have the right guy?”

Kafei took a deep breath, and exhaled. “You’re right. I guess I wasn’t really thinking...”

“Not to mention you’ve gone a bit stir crazy, what with being cooped up and all.” Gerant sighed. “Tell you what. Tomorrow, just let me handle the detective shit; you should just go have fun at the carnival.”

“I guess…” Kafei said. “But what if someone recognizes me?”

“What are they going to do? Warn the mayor about a twelve-year-old that has an eerie resemblance to his missing son?” Gerant shrugged. “Just let me take care of it, alright?”

“Yeah…” Kafei sighed. “...Don’t lock up just yet, though. I’m going to take a walk.”

* * *

After donning his disguise, Kafei set off to deliver the letter to his parents. Even though he didn’t add any specific instructions, he knew enough about the inner workings of the Terminan postal system that it would most likely get lost in the deluge of mail that comes around Carnival, not arriving on the Mayor’s desk for a week or so. Though, to be extra careful, he planned to deliver his letter to a postbox on the other side of town, since he figured his father was at least clever enough to have the town guard search the area where the mail was picked up.

Yet despite the lack of any obvious danger, Kafei felt on-edge. He jumped at shadows, dancing in the corner of his eye, produced by the flickering torches that lined the city streets. He cowered in fear of the walls and storefronts that he had seen hundreds of times before, but now seemed to loom ominously, like the walls of a grim castle. But he continued onwards nonetheless, telling himself that these ominous portents were just a trick of the light, or perhaps a result of being a foot shorter than usual.

“But that doesn’t mean there’s no danger…” he thought, looking over his shoulder. “That masked man… he’s still out there, I know it.”

However, in his paranoia, Kafei neglected to notice what was right in front of him, causing him to crash directly into a woman standing by a windowsill.

“Oh, um. Sorry about that, ma’am,” he began to stammer, before looking up to see an impossibly tall woman standing before him. At first he thought she was a gerudo, what with her seven-foot stature and toned physique. But her skin was far too pale, and her hair was a verdant green rather than a fiery red, in contrast to her piercing red eyes. She was wearing a white blouse with a plain green skirt, though upon closer inspection these simple garments were made of very fine material, giving the impression that the tailor originally planned something more elaborate before running out of materials.

“Eh, it’s fine,” the tall woman said. Her voice was dark and low pitched, but not necessarily deep; hardened without coming across as grizzled or husky. She turned back around to the windowsill as if nothing had happened, utterly dismissing Kafei's presence.The house had been empty for as long as Kafei could remember. But tonight, there seemed to be faint flickers of light coming from within, though he couldn’t reach high enough to see what was going on.

He was about to leave altogether, when the woman suddenly said, “So, did you find anything?”

His heart skipped a beat. “Who, m-me?” he asked, before turning around to see the woman was actually talking to a glowing ball of light that was perched upon her finger. 

The woman glared at Kafei. “Does it look like I’m talking to you?” she snapped, before returning her attention to the glowing object, which Kafei soon realized was a fairy. “Sorry, Opal. What were you saying?”

“N-nothing…” a tiny voice squeaked. “It was a-all bare a-and empty… l-lots of dust t-too.” 

“I guess it was too much to hope for.” The woman sighed. She then removed an empty bottle from her sash, and removed the stopper. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay out longer?”

“N-no… I’m good…” the tiny voice said. “I think I heard a… a-a rat or crow or something.”

“Alright alright, I get it.” she said, holding the bottle out. The winged ball of light then glowed a shade of pink, and jubilantly flew into the safety of the bottle, to which the tall woman then replaced the stopper.

As Kafei had stopped to stare at this unusual sight, the woman then glared at him once again.

“What?” she said. “You never seen a girl talk to a fairy before?”

“Uh... No,” Kafei replied. “I… really haven't.”

“Well, at least you’re honest,” the woman shrugged. “You don’t happen to know who lived here, do you?”

Kafei shook his head.

“...yeah, I guess you wouldn’t. Ah well. Happy Carnival or whatever.” And with that, the tall woman went on her way, leaving Kafei alone by the mailbox, not entirely sure what had just happened.


	5. Dawn of the 3rd Day

Despite finally managing to catch a good night’s sleep, Maximillian was nearing the end of his rope. He was never any good with kids to begin with, and despite the cheerful nature of the carnival happening around him, his repeated failures were very much trying his patience.

It seemed so simple at first. A quick bit of research revealed that “Keaton” was a folk legend of some sort; a three-tailed fox that plays tricks on people. This, combined with the fact that the child who witnessed the Masked One was trespassing, implied that he was a known troublemaker. Therefore, it stood to reason that the best way to find him was to ask another troublemaking child, and a group of kids known as “The Bombers Secret Society of Justice” were nothing if not troublemakers.

Leaving Jade behind to avoid scaring them, the inquisitor first tried approaching the children amicably, intending to offer them treats in exchange for information. This backfired immediately, as they immediately alerted the town guard, who detained the inquisitor under suspicion of making unsavory advances. This lead to a very awkward conversation with the lord-mayor where he clarified his intentions.

After he was released the inquisitor approached them again (this time with the blessing of the town guard), and asked them once again if they had seen the purple haired child. After a brief discussion amongst themselves they agreed to tell Maximillian what they knew, but only if he won a game of hide and seek with them. He reluctantly acquiesced, only to discover that the game of hide-and-seek was simply a ruse; the moment he closed his eyes, one of the Bombers’ numbers sneakily tied Maximillians’ shoelaces together. They then gathered around in a circle, laughing as the Inquisitor fell over trying to chase them. It was a very elaborate knot as well, necessitating assistance from the Town Guard to get him untied.

Having had enough of these childish antics, Maximillian went and fetched Jade. While he had no intention of resorting to violence, the inquisitor figured that Jade’s looming presence might scare the little brats into submission and re-assert Maximillian’s status as an authority figure.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.

“Oh man!” cried one of the boys crowding around the armored bodyguard in awe. “You look soooooooo cool!”

“Is that a real axe?” said another, pointing to the weapon Jade carried. Jade knelt to the ground so they could get a better look.

“I bet you’ve fought all kinds of monsters, huh?” inquired a third boy bouncing on his heels with excitement.

“Hey, what’s this?” a fourth boy said, reaching for the fairy bottle in Jade’s sash. Jade snatched the bottle away, and wagged a free finger in response. “Sorry…” the boy said in a genuine tone.

The boy in the red bandanna, the apparent leader of the group, nodded at this scene in approval. “You’ve got a pretty cool friend here, old man.”

“Um… thanks.” Maximillian said, suddenly feeling old despite being twenty seven. “...now, can you tell me where the boy is?”

“Nope!” the kid said. “I’d never seen a kid like that in my life! The only purple-haired guy I know around here is the mayor’s son, and he’s wayyyy too old to be hanging out with us!”

“Of course...” Maximillian put his hands to his face and sighed. “Of course the kid doesn’t know anything...” he looked over at Jade, and found that the bodyguard was the middle of giving autographs to the kids while simultaneously giving the kid who tried to steal his fairy a piggy-back ride.

“Maybe you could ask Tingle?” the leader of the Bombers said. “I mean, he’s not hard to find, and sees a lot of stuff.”

The inquisitor blinked. “...who’s Tingle?”

* * *

“KOOLOO-LIMPAH!” Tingle shouted, throwing confetti into the air. “Don’t worry, my young, cursed friend! Tingle’s powerful magics will find that wicked fairy for you!”

“Um… thanks,” Kafei said. “But could you not be so loud?”

“Oh, but of course!” Tingle said in a slightly more quiet voice. “Tingle is nothing, if not a master of invisibility.” he tossed a small handful of confetti, and whispered “kooloo-limpah!” before rising into the air on a red balloon.

Kafei sighed in exasperation. He wasn’t sure what sort of absurd thought process led Tingle to figure out his identity, but the so-called ‘reincarnated fairy’ could be trusted to keep a secret. Or at least be so off-the-wall insane that even if he were to blurt the secret out, no one would believe it. But even if he was hopelessly delusional, Tingle was unexpectedly gifted in matters of cartography and engineering. He had even found a way to combine his passions by developing a balloon-powered harness that made him capable of flight, so he could not only pretend to be a fairy but also get a birds-eye view of wherever he was trying to map out. 

Kafei did have to stretch the truth a bit in regards to who exactly the masked man was, claiming that he was an evil fairy who took Sakon’s shape, but his REAL form was actually the mask. He still wasn’t sure himself if Sakon and the Masked Man were one in the same, but it was the closest thing he had to a lead at this point. If he was lucky, Tingle would find the Sakon, the masked man, or maybe both, and signal him using a mirror. 

With that out of the way, Kafei made his way back towards the southern square, where the festival was just getting started. On the center pavilion, a band was playing a jaunty tune underneath the midday sun. While some sat and listened, for most, this was just the background noise as men, women and children of all races delighted in the closing of another year. 

Nearly everyone was wearing a mask. Traditionally, the mask was supposed to be carved in the likeness of the Four Giants that watched over Termina, but these days people dressed in elaborate costumes with masks depicting whatever they felt like. Some people even try to carve their own masks, though Kafei himself was never any good at it. One year he tried to make Cucco mask, but Anju thought it was some sort of deformed dodongo. He rolled with it and painted it green, but he must have botched that job too since his mom thought it looked more like a zora. 

_“Anju…”_ he thought, somberly _“...she really is gone, isn’t she?”_ He looked up at the clock tower. Once a year, at the stroke of midnight, the clock turns into a viewing platform, so that everyone could make their wishes for the new year. It was there than he and Anju were supposed to exchange their wedding vows, under the light of the moon’s smile. The moon made many faces throughout the year, but it always smiled on Carnival night. It was supposed to be good luck to get married under a smiling moon, which is why Anju wanted to wait until Carnival to tie the knot.

 _“If only I hadn’t listened…”_ he thought. _“If only we got married sooner, and moved to Lorule to start a farm like we planned...”_

But Kafei shook his head. _“No, why I am thinking that? it’s not her fault! And it’s not my fault either! It’s that damn mask, and the madman that’s controlling it...”_

He wasn’t sure what he was going to do when he found the masked man. He brought a knife with him for protection, but if the masked man could turn Kafei into a child, there’s no telling what else he could do. 

_“Maybe I’m going about this all wrong…”_ Kafei thought. _“Anju wouldn’t want me to die fighting a battle I can’t possibly win… she’d want me to walk way. To be happy.”_

He then looked at the clock. _“Then again… if Sakon, or whoever that masked man is killed Anju so flippantly, then he’s probably going to kill again.”_ He clenched his fist. _“And I know I’m not going to be able to live with myself until that murderer has been dealt with. And if I were to tell mom or dad, they’d only be putting themselves in danger. This is just something I have to do myself—”_

Suddenly, someone put a hand on Kafei’s shoulder. “Excuse me, young man,” a familiar voice said. Kafei turned around to find himself staring at the Lorulean Inquisitor, flanked by his gigantic bodyguard. “I have a few… questions.”

* * *

Tracking down Tingle was nothing if not child’s play. Tingle wasn’t exactly a person who made himself scarce; people all over town recognized his distinctive green jumpsuit, and try as they might, his bizarre antics were quite hard to forget. Things seemed grim when they found that Tingle was hovering over the southern plaza using some ridiculous balloonery. But as luck would have it, as he looked down from the sky he saw the purple-haired boy standing all alone, his back turned towards him. 

Seizing the opportunity, he reached reached out and grabbed the boy by his shoulder. “Excuse me young man,” the inquisitor said once he had the boy’s attention. “I have a few…” He paused to carefully consider his words. He didn’t want a repeat of earlier that day. “...questions.”

But before he could continue, the boy broke into a sprint. Cursing his rotten luck, the inquisitor began to chase after the boy, expecting Jade to follow. The boy was more nimble than expected, bobbing and weaving through the crowd to make up for his shorter stride. He tried to shout “stop, thief!” in hopes that bystanders might pitch in, but he was so out of breath that he could barely wheeze ‘...stop!’ without losing ground.

Luckily, Jade came to the rescue. Seemingly from out of nowhere, he leapt out from behind a stall, brandishing his axe in a frightening way to block the boy’s path. The crowd fled in terror at the sight of the large man with an axe. The boy dropped his mask as he nearly tripped, before ducking into that lead towards the laundry pool. 

“Ah, a dead end! Good work!” Maximillian gasped, struggling to catch his breath. “I guess you’re not entirely stupid after all.”

Jade seemed to ignore his flippant comment, and followed Max towards the pool.

It was there that he found the boy pounding on a locked door in a panic. “Gerant!” he shouted. “Let me in! It’s that inquisitor, he’s after me!”

“Calm down," Maximillian said, taking point. “I just have a few questions about what you saw last night…”

Suddenly, the door burst open, and a bald man with dark glasses lept out, brandishing a deku stick. “Leave through the front! I’ll hold them off as long as possible!” he shouted. 

Unleashing a fierce battle cry, the man charged at the inquisitor with terrifying speed… only for Jade to lightly smack him into the aqueduct with the flat side of his axe.

Maximillian facepalmed. “By the gods…” He looked up at the boy, who was now paralyzed with fear. Even if he did work up the courage to resume the chase, he most likely knew that he wouldn’t be able to escape the inquisitor, or his bodyguard.

But as he stared at the child, he noticed something very familiar about him… his long, purple locks of hair, parted at the center with only the slightest curl… 

Remembering the mask that Madame Aroma gave him, he removed it from his satchel. Despite the lack of facial details, the resemblance was otherwise uncanny.

 _“But wasn’t the mayor’s son was supposed to be an adult?”_ he thought. _“That’s right, he went missing at the same time as his Fiance. And if Majora’s Mask could overpower the Triforce… I suppose turning an adult into a child might not be beyond its power.”_

Maximillian cleared his throat. “I apologize, Mr. Doutor, but I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot," he said. ”My name is Maximillian Forthwind, inquisitor of Lorule. And I am trying to find the man who kidnapped your fiance.”


	6. Night of the 3rd Day

It took took the better part of the afternoon to get everything sorted out. Neither Kafei nor Maximillian trusted each other, locked into a stalemate where neither side wanted to admit to the other what they knew. Max ended up being the first to fold, admitting that he was trying to find the Empress of Lorule’s killer, and that the bloodstains Kafei saw came not from Anju, but from her pet cucco. 

From there, Kafei told his side of the story, about how he witnessed the Masked Man slaughter what he thought was Anju, and then cursed him for good measure. He also elaborated about his own investigative efforts, and how he suspected the culprit to be Sakon, the thief.

“An interesting theory, but I’m not sure if it passes muster,” Maximillian said. “The way you described Sakon made him sound like more of a petty thief than a murderer.”

“That’s just what I said!” Gerant quipped, before Jade nudged him in the stomach with his elbow.

“However, I will admit there are aspects of the timeline that sync up,” he said. “Your encounter with the Masked Man happened several hours before he murdered the empress, giving him just enough time to fly to Lorule no time to do much else.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Assuming, of course, he doesn’t have other powers that I’m not aware of.”

“So, what?” Kafei said. “You think the guy just broke into Anju’s place, killed her pet, and went to commit regicide?”

“It certainly appears that way...” Maxamillian said. “There could be any number of reasons for this. Perhaps your fiance was unknowingly a sage whose death would weaken the seal of an ancient, primordial evil. Perhaps Sakon was riding high on a power trip after stealing your wedding mask, going from a sociopath to a psychopath. Or perhaps the poor soul, whoever he was, was simply overcome by the mask’s power and became an unthinking beast of chaos…”

Then again, there was a fourth possibility. A possibility that the inquisitor preferred to keep to himself, at least for the time being.

“...but in any case,” Maximillian continued, “There’s a good chance that Sakon has at least seen the masked man, assuming he isn’t the man himself.”

“So we just need to find him, right?” Kafei said.

The inquisitor sighed. “Mr. Dotour. While I appreciate the help you’ve given us, for you own safety you must remain here until we sort out this problem.”

“But how?!” Kafei exclaimed, placing his hands on the table. “Up until a few hours ago, I thought the Masked Man was just a serial killer with a couple spells, but now you’re telling me he can overpower the Triforce?! What chance do you have?”

Maximillian scoffed. “I have faith in my own abilities. After all, the Empress-”

“Died fighting it,” Kafei said, finishing his sentence. “Look, I’m sure your empress is great and all, but we’re still missing some pieces here. Why was Anju kidnapped, why did the masked man return here, and why was he even in Clock Town in the first place?”

“I—-” Maxamillian he began to speak, only for Kafei to shut him down.

“And you can’t just say it’s a ‘mindless creature of chaos’!” Kafei was clenching his fists, looking frantic, feeling both panicked and yet more sure of himself than ever. “He knew my name, he knew who the empress was, and if he hasn’t left Clock Town already, then he’s clearly smart enough to hide in a crowded city in the middle of a festival!”

For a moment, the Inquisitor hesitated. Even if he knew that the boy sitting in front of him was really an adult, it was unnerving to hear him speak like that. “...what are you saying?”

Kafei heaved a sigh. “What I’m saying is that this guy is planning something, and if he’s still here, I’d bet anything that it has to do with the Carnival.”

A chill ran down Maximillian’s spine. “The carnival...”

“Everyone in town is going to be in the town square,” Kafei said. “I don’t know if he’s going to use a curse or if he’ll go straight for murder, but regardless it’s not going to be good.”

Maximillian looked at the clock on the wall. “That means we have… three hours at most,” he said. “Unless he decides to start the slaughter beforehand.”

“I guess we just have to hope Tingle pulls through.” Kafei’s tone was cautious, as if he wasn’t sure whether to be optimistic at Tingle’s ability or despondent that it was all up to him.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. “Oh-ho! Mask boy!” a gartingly jolly voice called. “Tingle has a secret message for you!”

Kafei rushed to the door and opened, whereupon he was greeted with a face-full of confetti. “KOOLOO-LIMPAH!” Tingle shouted. “I’ve done it! I’ve found the wicked fairy! It turns out, he was waiting on top of the clock tower the whole time!”

Wordlessly, Kafei grabbed a pair of binoculars off the shelf, and rushed towards the southern square, where a circus troupe was performing an acrobatic routine. He looked at dome on the top of the tower, and sure enough, the masked man was standing there, unnoticed by the revelers and celebrants below. And worse… the masked man was staring back.

He bit his lip. There’s no way he’d be able to get up there in time, and the Masked Man knew it unless…

“Tingle, give me your harness.”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaa?!” Tingle exclaimed. “B-but sir! This is Tingle’s only-”

Not waiting for him to finish the sentence, Kafei beaned Tingle over the head with his binoculars, knocking him out cold, and began removing his balloon harness.

“Hold on, what do you think you’re doing?!” Maximillian said. 

“When tingle wakes up, tell him I’m sorry for hitting him like that,” Kafei said, as he finished strapping himself in. “And more importantly… tell my parents that I love them.” He twisted a knob on a strap, and a helium-producing glyph flared to life, inflating the balloon on his back. He felt a lurching sensation as the balloon hoisted into the air.

“Damn fool…” Maximillian said, watching the boy—man—ascend into the air. “...he’s going to get himself killed.” 

* * *

Kafei knew he was probably going to get himself killed. But it didn’t matter. His life was over the moment Anju vanished, and the fact that they never found a body meant nothing, considering what sort of powers that mask contained. And if he didn’t do something… everyone else would likely meet the same fate.

As he rode on the balloon, the magic gyroscopes within the harness directing him towards his destination, he clutched his knife firmly in his hand. Whatever he was going to do, he was only going to have one shot at it. One shot to avenge Anju, save Clock Town, and break his own curse. 

He had never taken a life before. But he hesitated to call the Masked Man a “person”. He was scum. A madman. A blight on the world. Killing him would be doing everyone a great service.

At least… that’s what he tried telling himself, at any rate.

Despite having every opportunity to do so, the Masked Man made no intention of stopping Kafei as he landed on the rooftop dome. He was cast in shadows, lit only by the faint light of a grinning moon, as well as the mask’s own glowing yellow eyes. 

“Took you long enough,” said the Masked Man, voice cackling and high-pitched. “I mean, I’ve been waiting for you for what felt like aaaaaaages!”

“Shut up,” said Kafei, brandishing his knife.

“Oh my! You’ve been a naughty, naughty boy!” the Masked Man laughed. “Does your mother know you’ve been playing with knives?”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” Clutching his blade, Kafei charged at the monster, preparing to plunge the tiny blade into his black heart.

“Oh, my dear, sweet Kafei,” the Masked Man said, clicking his tongue to scold. “Don’t tell me you have cold feet, on our wedding night no less?”

* * *

“You there! Guard!” Maximillian held up his writ of authority, and pointed to the roof of the clock tower. “How do we get up there?”

“Uh…” the guard standing in front of the clock tower muttered. He had no idea who this man was, or what was the deal with the giant standing behind him, but he was slightly drunk on Chateau Romani, so he wasn’t really in the mood to argue. “Well, normally you’d wait for midnight, I guess…”

“There’s no time for that! This is urgent, inquisitorial business!” Maximillian shouted. “There has to be a maintenance hatch, footholds, anything!”

“Look, man” the guard said. “I’m just supposed to stand here and make sure nobody messes with the time, okay?” he rubbed his forehead, starting to get a headache from the yelling inquisitor. “I guess maybe you could check inside and see if there’s something, but-”

“Good man,” said Maximillian, clapping his shoulder. “Find the mayor, or better yet his wife, and tell them to evacuate the square immediately!”

“I’m not sure that’s such a-”

“Did you hear me, guardsman!?” Maximillian shouted, being sure to slather every word with authority. 

“Uh… sir yes sir!” the guard briefly snapped to attention, before limping off to find the mayor.

He then motioned to Jade, and together they opened the door to the clock tower’s waterworks. Leaving Jade to stand guard, Maximillian pulled out a lantern to search the dank, cavernous room. He was searching for something, anything that could help them climb the tower. 

But just as he rounded a corner, a man with a disconcerting smile stepped out of the shadows. Maximillian nearly gasped in fright, but it appeared to be just a merchant of some sort. Given the large, mask-covered bag he carried, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume he sold masks.

“Oh, what a surprise,” the happy mask salesman said, joyfully clasping his hands. “It seems out hero has found a few more friends to help him on his quest. A bit of wisdom and power to go with his courage, one could say?”

Maximillian squinted suspiciously. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

“Oh, that’s nothing to worry about,” the grinning man said, with a dismissive wave of his hand. “But if you really want to save your friend... I’d pull that lever right over there.” He pointed over Maximillian’s left shoulder, and sure enough, there was a lever sticking out of the wall. 

“Why? What will happen if I-” but when he turned back, the merchant was gone.

The inquisitor looked back at the lever. On one hand, he didn’t want to make a habit out of listening to strange men who spoke cryptically before disappearing. On the other hand, he was kind of running out of ideas at this point. So after a moment’s hesitation, he pulled the lever.

* * *

Kafei was frozen in place, his knife hovering just inches away from the Masked One’s chest, suspended mid-swing by the mask’s magic. His eyes were the only part of the body that he could move, and they were wide open in shock, as he finally recognized the figure clad in a silken dress that stood before him.

“Until death do us part… that’s what they say, isn’t it?” the Masked One said, Lifting up her mask to reveal the face of Anju, her irises illuminated by a bright yellow glow. She was wearing her wedding gown, once pure white, but now stained in the blood of her victims.

With a snap of her fingers, the Masked One released Kafei from his paralysis, leaving him sprawled on the ground, sore from the experience.

“No... “ Kafei murmured, “It can’t—-”

“IT CAN’T BEEEEEEEEEEEE!” the Masked Man said, mocking Kafei’s voice in a nasally, high-pitched whine. “The love of my life has turned EEEEEEEEEVIL! HOOOOOOOW could this have HAPPENED?!” the taunting then turned into a sadistic laugh. “That’s a very good question, isn’t it? Am I possessed? A doppelganger? Or was I secretly evil all along?”

“You’re… not Anju…” Kafei said. He was wracking his head, wondering how he could have failed to recognize his fiance, or at least the thing that looked like her. He figured it was the voice. It was like Anju’s, but her tone and speech patterns were all wrong; now she was shrill and cruel and shrieking, and always on the verge of breaking out into laughter. It was like someone playing a flute so badly that you couldn’t tell it was a flute in the first place.

“Well, I was Anju, at any rate. But for now, I suppose you can call me Majora” she said lowering the mask back onto her face.

Suddenly, the dome began to shake. Losing his grip on the knife, Kafei felt his stomach churn as the dome at the top of the clock tower shot into the air, becoming a giant counterweight. In a few moments that counterweight would fall over sideways, transforming the northern face of the Clock Tower into a public viewing platform, the final venue of the carnival. 

“Follow me, darling, and please watch your step,” Majora said in a sing-song voice, as she began walking towards the edge of the dome while the floor shook .

Thinking quickly, he cranked the knob on Tingle’s harness, and chased after Majora as she stepped off the ledge of the descending counter-weight. While it wasn’t inflated enough to get airborne again, the balloon broke enough of his fall that he only landed with minor bruising on his arm when he hit the edge of the viewing platform.

Gazing at the town below, Kafei could see that the carnival was in a state of panic. Whether it was Jade and Max getting the word out about the Majora, or the fact that the Clock Tower transformed a few hours too early, the southern square was already being evacuated. 

“Aww, they’re leaving already?” Kafei looked up, only to find Majora was staring down at the town as well. “But we they’re going to miss the best part!” She spread out her hands, and clapped them together, causing walls of fire to erupt across every alleyway, trapping those who had yet to escape, while stranding the people who had already left.

“STOP!” shouted Kafei.

“And let’s not forget the bridesmaids!” she slowly raised her hand into the air, and Kafei watched as the cobblestones below began to crack. From the ground rose a trio of lanky humanoids, faces hidden by blood red veils, each carrying a bloodied scythe in hand. The town guard formed ranks around the cowering townsfolk, as the undead horrors slowly lurched towards them. 

“Stop it!” Kafei begged. .

“Oh and look, that must be the ringbearer!” Majora’s fingertips began to spark, as she weaved a cat’s cradle out of thin traces of shadow. And with every movement she made, an enormous pair of disembodied hands began to take shape, along with a single, cyclopean eye. The earth shook as it slammed its left palm on the ground, while the right palm opened to reveal a large, golden ring, made of innumerable copies of Majora’s visage.

“Please… stop,” Kafei whimpered, grabbing onto Anju’s leg, tears running down his eye. “Just stop. What do you even want, anyway?”

At that moment, the monsters down below came to a stop. The bloody bridesmaids froze in their tracks, while the disembodied hand of the floating monstrocity halted mere inches away from smashing a deku merchant that was pleading for his life.

The Masked Man raised her visage again, and a tender smile began to cross her face.

“Why… I want you, of course!” she said. But then her tender smile morphed into a wicked grin. “I want to see you suffer. I want to see you cry. I want to see your spirit broken, your soul crushed. I want to drink your sweat, blood and tears, in both the literal and metaphorical sense. I want you to lose all hope for life; no, I want to see you to lose all hope for other people’s lives. I want to see you mutilate your friends, torture your family, and devour your pets. And then, when all is said and done, when I’ve finally run out of things to do once you’re every bit as broken, sadistic, and cruel as I am…” Her face suddenly changed back to an innocent smile. “Maybe we can have have a kid! A child that you’ll learn to love and cherish just as much as I love you.” 

Kafei was stunned. Even if she was being possessed, it was shocking to hear those words of madness come from the love of his life. 

But this wasn’t Anju. Anju was gone...

“Now… Kafei Dotour…” Majora said. “Do you, or do you not take me as your lawfully wedded wife?”

...Or was she? Despite everything that the Masked Man did to Kafei, Majora kept him alive. She could curse him, yes. Torture him. Humiliate him. Destroy everything he ever loved. But somehow, Anju was holding Majora back.

And that meant… and as long as he was alive, he might be able to find Anju.

“...if I agree to go with you, will you call off your monsters and leave Clock Town alone?”

“Fine, fine,” Majora sighed. “I’ll leave them alone… for now, anyway.”

“In that case... “ Kafei took a deep breath. “...I—-”

“Excuse me, but can I just have a moment?” called a voice. 

Majora and Kafei turned to the side, to see Inquisitor Maximillian Forthwind waiting at the top of the newly-formed staircase, alongside his bodyguard.

“I don’t want to come off as a prude, but you need a priest for a wedding, don’t you?” Maximillian twirled his mustache. “While Empress Hilda may have dismantled Lorule’s clergy centuries ago, as a member of the Inquisition I have the authority to, among other things, officiate wedding ceremonies.”

“...what’s your point?” Majora said, crossing her arms in irritation.

“Well it’s just that… I was supposed to be here to say ‘if anyone objects to this union, speak now or forever hold your peace’. And I’m afraid my companion here has more than a few objections.” Maximillian then stepped to the side, and allowed allow Jade to step forwards, brandishing his axe in a manner not unlike an executioner.

Majora simply frowned. “Like, I really I don’t have time for this.” And with a wave of her hand, she snapped all the bones in Maxwell’s arm.

“YEAAAAAAGH!” Maximillian yelled as he fell to the floor and began rolling around in pain, screaming like a little girl.

“Well that was anticlimactic,” Majora quipped, clapping the dust off her hands. “And now for the big guy…” she looked up at the bodyguard. “I feel like seafood tonight, so I’m gonna turn you into… an Octorok!”

Majora thrust her hand towards Majora… but nothing happened.

Jade took a step forward.

“Huh… that shouldn’t have happened…” she rubbed her chin. “Maybe it would work if I made you… a tektite!” 

She thrust her hand out again.

Jade took another step forward.

“...a chuchu! A keese! A Pol’s voice!” Majora began to shoot spell after spell at Jade, only to watch in horror as armored figure walked through each spell completely unharmed.

“Oh, I get it now…” Majroa grinned. “You brought some kinda magic proof armor, didn’t ya?” she chuckled. “Mighty clever… too bad your armor can rust!”

Majora placed her palms together, and unleashed a cloud of corrosive, foul-smelling chemicals at Jade. By design, it wasn’t potent enough to melt living tissue, but quickly corroded Jade’s weapons and armor to nothing in a matter of seconds. Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing Jade to be the tall, green-haired woman that Kafei had met the previous night, now dressed in a thick, padded doublet.

“Ahah! I cursed you into the form of a beautiful woman!” shouted Majora. “Wait, no, that’s not what I was trying to do...”

“...you talk too much.” Jade said, before Grabbing Majora by the throat, holding her up by a single hand.

*ghak… d-dodongo?” Majora wheezed.

“Yeah, save your breath.” Jade said, glancing down at her sash to make so that Opal was still okay. “I’m the one who’s immune to magic, not my armor.” 

“Wait, don’t kill her!” Kafei shouted. “My fiance’s under there! The mask must be controlling her!”

“...really?” Jade said, looking at Kafei. “Good to know.” 

In one swift motion, Jade plucked the mask off Anju’s face, and gently set Anju down onto the floor. Jade then proceeded to snap it in two over her leg, gathered the two halves together, snapped those halves into quarters, tore apart the remaining quarters with her bare hands, and then stomped on the pile of woodchips a few more times for good measure.

“Okay…” Jade said. “NOW it’s over.” She walked over to Kafei, and handed him a bottle full of red healing potion. “You okay?”

“Yeah… I think so…” Kafei said. Looking down at his body, he still seemed to be cursed, but at least he was still alive. He took a sip of the potion jar and his bruises began to fade away. “Thanks...”

“Don’t mention it.” Jade said. She then took another potion from her satchel, and walked over to Maximillian, who had stopped screaming and was now whimpering deliriously, clutching his broken arm in agony. She knelt down before him and put the bottle in his good hand, which the inquisitor gratefully drank.

“Your arm is going to feel numb for a few hours, but don’t worry; that’s just the magic knitting your bones back together. It’ll be fine as long as you don’t break them again,” she explained.

“Th-anks…” sputtered Maximillian. “Who… are you, exactly?”

Jade sighed. “Jade. Your bodyguard. I’m a girl. Surprised?”

“Just… a little…” Max said, hoisting himself up. “I can see now why the empress chose you...”

“Damn right,” Jade said. “I thought someone would have told you about my anti-magic, thing but…” Jade and Maximillian looked towards Kafei. 

He was kneeling next to Anju, who remained unconscious.

“...she’s still alive.” Kafei breathed a sigh of relief. “Gods… it’s finally over.”

“Indeed it is,” Maximillian said, out of breath, but beginning to relax. “Your curse seems to have remained, but not to worry; I will personally see to it that the finest alchemists and thaumaturges in Lorule find a way to break it.”

“Yeah… that would be nice…” Kafei said. He then looked back at Anju, who was beginning to regain consciousness. 

“...Kafei?” she said. “Is that you?”

“Yeah.” Kafei said. “I mean… I’m a bit smaller than usual right now. A bit of a long story but… it’s still just me.”

“Oh…” Anju looked up at the moon, beaming down on them. “I just had the most horrible dream… I didn’t miss the carnival, did I?”

“...I think the Carnival's been called off this year,” Kafei said. He then looked up at Max. “But I think there’s time enough to exchange our vows, isn’t there?”

“Of course,” the inquisitor said. “I’m nothing if not accommodating.” he cleared his throat. “Do you, Kafei Dotour, take Anju Potterson to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” said Kafei.

“And do you, Anju Potterson, hereby take Kafei Dotour as your husband, to cherish and treasure until the very stars fall from the sky?” he went on.

“I do,” said Anju.

“Very well then,” the inquisitor said. “By the power vested in me, I hereby pronounce you, man and wife,” he gestured to the happy couple, with Anju getting on her knees so that she was matched to Kafei’s height. “You may now kiss the-”

But before he could finish, Anju snickered.

“...uh… Anju?” Kafei said. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. “ Anju said. She blinked, and when her eyes opened, they were glowing yellow once again. “It’s just that you people are so easy to fool.”

The broken pile of wood at Jade’s feet began to shake, before suddenly erupting erupting into an explosion of splinters. Kafei recoiled in horror as Majora’s mask quickly reconstituted itself in Anju, or rather Majora’s hand. “I mean, did you really think it would be that easy? That a being of such unimaginable power could be thwarted by smashing a piece of wood?” 

She turned to face Jade, who had already assumed a fighting stance. “I admit your little trick caught me off guard, but that just means my victory will be all the sweeter once I find a way to crush you-”

Jade wordlessly lunged towards the masked figure, trying to tackle her to the ground, only to pass right through.

“Ooh! You can’t see through illusions, can you?” Majora’s voice spoke from above. “That’s good to know!” The Majora standing on the clock tower vanished, and everyone looked upwards to find her floating in the sky, slouching as if she was on an invisible chair. “But, my darling did agree to marry me, so I suppose I’ll leave this town alone... For a little while, at least.” She then blew Kafei a kiss that left him feeling sickened. “So long, my beautiful husband! See you at the honeymoon! A-ha ha ha ha ha!”

As Majora flew into the night, her cackle echoing off the city walls, Kafei fell to his knees. “No… Anju...” 

Jade looked at Kafei, and then back at Maximillian. She could see that he was disturbed by the night’s events, even if he was doing a good job hiding it. “So,” said Jade, “are we going to chase after her?”

Maximillian ignored his bodyguard’s query. It was bad enough that the Masked One was playing mind games, torturing the psyche of an innocent young man, but the sadistic pleasure she seemed to derive from his suffering was truly unforgivable! What sort of monster would derive delight from such manipulative behavior?

And why was he so worried about the answer to that question?

“Hey?” Jade said, waving her hand in front of Max’s face. “Are you okay?”

“...yes, I am _indeed_ fine,” he said, clutching his still-numb arm. “But if we left now, we’d be charging straight into our doom.” He looked down at the crowd below. Majora’s monsters had vanished, and while it looked like there were a few poor souls who had been trampled by the crowd or burned trying to get through the walls of flame, the town as a whole seemed to be in one piece. “Leave the lord-mayor to me, and we can reconvene first thing in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admit it. You all thought I was joking when I listed Majora/Kafei as a ship, didn't you?


	7. Dawn of the 4th Day

To Kafei’s relief, Max was able to keep his father distracted long enough for him to sneak back to the curiosity shop, where he found that Gerant and the now-conscious Tingle were chatting over glasses of milk (and  _ only  _ milk, in Tingle’s case). Apparently, he had seen the entire thing through his “Tingle-Scope”, which was a phrase Kafei never wanted to hear again for as long as he lived. Moreover, he had admired Kafei’s bravery so much, that he decided to let him keep the balloon harness; something that Kafei wasn’t entirely on board with but was too polite and unsettled to refuse. 

After completely changing all the cushions on the couch where Tingle had slept (Gerant said he was going to burn them afterwards, and Kafei wasn’t entirely sure he was joking), Kafei tried his best to fall asleep, only to find his dreams plagued with visions of masks and hideous laughter.

When he finally awoke, to his great surprise, he found Max and Jade waiting for him, eating a simple meal of scrambled eggs and toast.

“What...” Kafei blinked. “What are you guys still doing here?”

“What indeed, Mr. Dotour.” Maximillian stood up from his chair, and solemnly bowed towards Kafei. “On behalf of Lorule, I sincerely apologize for our failure to defeat Majora.” he then looked up at Kafei. “But I’m afraid we still need your assistance.”

“What do you mean?” asked Kafei.

“The mask might have a will of its own, but it seems that your wife—- erm, I mean fiance—- imprinted on the mask’s personality to some extent,” Max said. “Jade, being immune to magic, is our best chance at stopping her. And if nothing else, she seems to be obsessed with you.”

“And what are you going to do when you find her? Kill her?” Kafei said. 

“If it comes to that,” the inquisitor flatly replied. “But if your fiance is even conscious at this point-”

“Anju,” Kafei snapped, finally reaching his breaking point. “Her name is Anju! She’s not some kind of inanimate  _ thing _ . She’s a  _ person _ . A person I love, and still love with all my heart.” he clenched his fists in rage. “And here you are, talking about her like some sort of piece on a chess board!”

Maximillian was about to object, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out a good rebuttal. So instead, he switched tactics.

“Once again, I apologize,” the inquisitor said, bowing once again. “I meant to say that bringing about Anju’s death would be a last resort. I have no intention of using murder as a solution when other options present themselves.” he pulled out a small vial from his bag. “Earlier today, I commissioned an alchemist to produce a sleeping draught of such potency that its mere vapors would render a dodongo unconscious. Yet, since it’s magic, my bodyguard could drink the entire thing without feeling the slightest bit drowsy.”

“So your plan is to just… throw the bottle at her and hope for the best?” Jade inquired.

Maximillian gave an annoyed look to bodyguard. 

“Hey, don’t look at me like that,” Jade said. “You nearly got yourself killed trying to be a show-offy dick. I’m just saying, maybe your plans could use a second opinion?”

The inquisitor shook his head. “Side remarks aside, please remember that I have very little to work with concerning the Mask and its powers. We can’t even be certain that killing the mask’s host would lead to the mask becoming inert.”

“Speaking of things we don’t know…” Kafei began. “How did Anju get Majora’s Mask in the first place?”

“Hold up! I think I can answer that!” Gerant said, stumbling into the room with a plate full of terminan toast. “I asked around a bit, last night and wouldn’t you know; it really was Sakon’s fault!” he said. “Apparently he was stealing from the mail, and got the bright idea to frame the whole thing as a mix-up by swapping the labels around. The creepy doom mask was supposed to go to the P.O. box signed in the name of ‘Happy Masks ltd.’, but he put the delivery label from the sun mask on that package to cover for his theft. And since the two parcels were pretty much the same size, nobody noticed until it was too late.” He put down the platter of toast and crossed his arms. “And before you ask, yes, the weird smiling guy showed up again and threw a tantrum at the post office. Still no idea what his deal is.”

“And Sakon?” asked Kafei. “Where is he now?”

“Fled town after the monsters showed up,” Gerant said. He picked up a slice of toast and took a bite, then continued. “Word has it he scrambled straight up a wall like a frightened squirrel. I broke protocol and told the town guard about the mask theft, so he probably won’t be around here for a while,” he sighed.

“We can’t waste time on petty thieves, Not when there are larger issues to worry about,” Maximillian said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I’ll send a messenger to Lorule, requesting that a bounty be placed on him.” He looked back at Kafei. “So… are you with us, Mr. Dotour?”

Kafei thought for a second, before responding. “Yes,” he said. “I’m… I’m going to come with you. And we’re going to save Anju.”

* * *

After a bit more discussion plan was reached. They agreed that telling Mayor Dotour about Kafei’s already tenuous situation would make things even more complicated than they already were, and letting Anju’s family know that she had been possessed by the mask would only cause them undue suffering. Gerant had no intention of joining the group, since he had a business to manage; a business that was in jeopardy now that he had turned informant on Sakon. But he was more than willing to help supply the group, since he also ran the general store... just as long as Jade did all the heavy lifting.

This left Kafei and Max free to do what they did best; gather information. Namely, they needed to figure out where Majroa was heading. At first they were worried they were going to come up empty handed; few people had noticed Majora on the clock tower in the first place, and fewer still paid her any attention when the monsters and walls of flame posed a more immediate threat. But as it so happened, a traveling merchant overhearing their plight, and had just the information they were looking for.

“It was the barmiest thing, ‘guv- I mean, yer excillency,” he said, touching his cap. “Right, see, I was headin’ eastward I was. And there I am, jus’ far enough away that I saw them walls o’ flame wot everyone’s goin’ on about.” He scratched a spot underneath his cap. “I figured they woz’ festival lights, on account of the Time Fair an’ all. I wanted to go I did, but me horse went and caught a cold, so I was—-”

“Get to the point,” the inquisitor said. “We don’t have all day.”

“Right. ‘Course,” the man said. “So there I was, watching the whole bloody place lit up like a bottle rocket, when suddenly the lights went out, just like that!” he snapped his fingers for emphasis. “An’ just when I thought I saw all there was, some tart comes flying overhead, laughing ‘er ass off like she ‘ad gone spare! Probably a ghost or suchlike, but I ain’t see a poe like that before.”

“I see…” The Inquisitor said, nodding. “Thank you, that will be all.”

“Don’t sweat it!” the man said, tipping his hat in respect. “Good luck with the ghost hunt, or whatever! An’ have a merry carnival, fer what it’s worth!”

The inquisitor rolled his eyes as he walked way. People like that merchant always rubbed Max the wrong way. There were few things more frustrating than a fool who knew something of profound significance, but was too stupid to realize how valuble it was. 

He turned back to Kafei, who he found waiting right behind him. “She’s heading west, towards the Great Bay,” Max said.

“I heard,” Kafei said. “I asked The Bombers, and they said the same thing.”

Maximillian scoffed. “As if we can trust what a group of children say...”

“You’d be surprised,” Kafei replied, pulling out a notebook with a bomb-shaped logo on the cover. “The Bombers Society of Justice is rather well-organized. I even used to be a member back in the day.”

“Society of Justice?” Maximillian raised an eyebrow. “A bold name for a bunch of troublemaking pranksters.” 

“Well, yeah, they’re that too,” Kafei admitted with a nostalgic smile. “But they’re only supposed only prank the ‘bad guys’. They do a lot of good things too, like finding missing wallets and stopping petty crimes.”

Maximillian took the old, yellowed book and examined it. It was mainly full of childish notes about the minutiae of the young Mr. Dotour’s life, as well as absurd code names for ‘secret missions’ that usually revolved around baked goods, frogs, or both. Many of the eneteries appeared to be written in the third person, detailing someone called…

“The Violet Fox?” Maximillian asked. 

“Oh, erm. That was my code name back then,” Kafei said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “See, there was an old storybook hero called The Scarlet Fox who wore a mask like this, so I figured; hey, I guess I could be The Violet Fox.” he laughed nervously. “It’s just a silly nickname of course. It wasn’t all that serious—-”

“Oy! Violet Fox!” Kafei turned around to see a group of kids in bandannas running towards him. “I told you he was real didn’t I?!” said the leader.

“Wowee! It’s really him!” said another. “Is it true that he never once lost a game of marbles?”

“It sure is!” said a third. “And he’s a world-champion frog-wrangler to boot!”

“But why isn’t he a grown-up?” asked the fourth.

“Didn’t you hear? Jim said he was cursed or something!” said a fifth. “He fought the bad guy who ruined the carnival, and now he’s on a secret mission!”

Maximillian glared at Kafei. 

“Um… they’re very good at keeping secrets… I hope?” Kafei said, tugging on the collar of his shirt.

“You’re dang right, we are!” the leader said, pumping his fist. “We just thought that if you were going out to fight a bad guy an’ all you might as well come prepared!” He handed Kafei a slingshot, and a handful of Deku seeds. “My slingshot has to be the best in the whole wide world! But you’re gonna need it more than I do.”

“Yeah, I brought some of my mum’s soup!” said the second kid, handing Kafei a thermos. “It’s ‘got broccoli in it, but it tastes better than you’d think!”

“We also got a new notebook, ‘cuz your old one’s all full.” the third kid handed Kafei a fresher notebook, with the words “Secret Mission Notebook!!!!” written in crayon underneath the logo.

“And uh,” the fourth kid began, “...I got a frog. You still like frogs, right?”

The frog croaked as it sat in the child’s hand. 

“Uh… thanks, but I don’t think I need that.” Kafei said, his hands already full. “Just promise me you’ll keep the town safe while I’m gone, okay?”

“YES SIR!” the kids shouted in unison, before giving him a salute.

“Right then, um… good work. You’re all dismissed.” He hugged his goods to his chest, and with a wave of his hand, the kids dispersed.

Max stared at Kafei for a moment. “Are you done?”

“Hopefully,” Kafei said. 

He looked around and spotted Jade driving the carriage towards them. In the time since breakfast she had bought a suit of chainmail to wear over her doublet, as well as a plain white tabard to go over the chainmail. She had also replaced her axe with a shield and spear, which was sensible given that she was less armored than before.

“Alright, it’s your turn to drive,” Jade said, getting down from the driver’s seat and handing the reins to Max. “I mean, I drove us here, didn’t I?”

“...did you?” Max said. He scratched his head; he had distinctly remembered Jade being in the carriage with him. But maybe he was misremembering things. “Yes, I suppose you must have…”

“I don’t see anyone else here,” Jade said. “So unless you want a lot of awkward questions about letting the kid drive...” 

“Fine, fine,” Max said, climbing onto the carriage. “I suppose I could use a bit of fresh air…”

And so, Jade and Kafei piled into the carriage, and the trio set off to the Great Bay.


	8. Night of the 4th Day

Anju sprung out of bed, having awoken from a horrible nightmare. Like most nightmares, most of it was as an indistinct blur, with scenes occurring with very little rhyme or reason, but there were a few particularly vivid bits that stood out. In her dream she had become some kind of monster, who butchered her poor old hen, cursed her husband, and fought a princess that was more machine than man. But just when it seemed hopeless, Kafei showed up to try and save her. But then she just laughed at him, and...

“I knew that mask would give me nightmares.” Anju thought, recalling how her Fiance’s wedding mask. It was pretty different than she expected; she had no idea how reds and purples made it a “sun” mask, and even less idea how it was supposed to match her own “moon” mask. But the craftsman Kafei had commissioned was supposed to be a genius in the field, so perhaps it made sense on some deep, artistic level. She quite liked art, at least when it was aesthetically pleasing. But the mask seemed more like one of those things that were meant to make more of a ‘Statement’ about ‘Deep Meaningful Truths’. Anju wasn’t fond with that kind of art, though that didn’t make her a shallow person. Or, at least, she hoped it didn’t. She was always worried that she was a shallow person, and the fact that she was going to marry one of the richest, most important men in town, who was quite handsome to boot (or at least Anju thought he was handsome) didn’t help matters. 

And Anju had dreams for the future. Simple dreams, mind you, but dreams nonetheless. She wanted to escape from the city, and start a farm in the countryside with her husband. It wouldn’t be easy, certainly; she was good friends with the owner of Romani Ranch, and she had no illusions of how hard farm work was. But Anju wasn’t afraid of a bit of menial labor, and in any case she always found the city to be cramped and overwhelming at times. Yes, a simple life in the countryside would be just delightful. They could raise hundreds of beautiful cuccos, feeding them corn grown and harvested in the verdant fields. Every Sunday they would travel to town to sell the eggs at the market square, ending the day with a candlelit meal. Perhaps one day they could even buy a calf from the Romani Ranch, and raise it into a hearty dairy cow. And they’d also get a horse! Anju couldn’t wait to teach her husband how to ride a horse. She was already quite good at horse riding herself, of course, but Kafei used to be downright terrified of horses after one trampled a frog he was trying to take care of. Thankfully he was older and more mature now, but he had still never learned to ride.

Which was a shame because his dad used to play polo when he was younger, and Kafei would look quite fetching in a polo outfit. She could almost picture him, riding the field with his mallet in hand, charging into battle like a gallant knight. Only it wasn’t really a battle at all really; she was pretty sure there were rules against hitting people on the polo field. Now that she thought of it, maybe she could learn to play polo. Was that even allowed? It was typically a rich person’s game, after all. But then again she was marrying into wealth, even though the money didn’t really matter to her. If the snobs looked down upon her, then she could just form her own team; Romani had a pretty good arm after all, and Kafei was in pretty good shape himself, even if he didn’t know how to ride a horse.

Just then, Anju’s daydreaming was interrupted by the sound of a foot tapping impatiently on the floorboards. Anju turned to her side, and was shocked to see herself staring back at her. Except, it wasn’t quite herself, exactly. The other Anju’s eyes were glowing, for one thing, and she was wearing a wedding gown. She was also wearing the creepy, heart-shaped mask from last night, only it was on top of her head rather than her face, as if it were more like a hat.

“Uh… hello?” Anju cautiously said.

“Oh don’t ‘hello’ me!” the other Anju snapped. “Do you have any idea how rambling your thoughts sound?! Your empty-headed navel gazing threw off my script completely!”

Anju blinked. “Your… script?”

“Yeah! My script!” the other Anju gestured to the blood-red sky in the windowsill. “You didn’t even look at the upside-down cityscape, after I spent all that time designing the naked men with clocks for hands who only moved whenever you blinked!” she clutched her forehead in frustration. “Then, you were supposed to go downstairs and ask what happened, to see your mom and grandma eating handfuls of maggots for breakfast! And then, once you lost all sense of reality, your zombie dad was going to appear in the kitchen and go-”

A large, muscular zombie cast in the image of Anju’s dad burst into the bedroom. “YOU ARE A FAILURE OF A DAUGHTER! I NEVER LIKED YOU, AND I DIED BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T LOVE ME ENOUGH! AND NOW I WILL WHIP YOU OR SOMETHING!” And then the zombie collapsed into a pile of cockroaches, all of which had the mayor’s face.

Anju held her breath as she tried to process what was going on. It was a trick her actual, non-zombie father taught her about how to deal with an unruly customer; the moment you lose your calm is the moment you lose their business. 

“I see,” she said. “But, um. Why?”

The other Anju glared at her, and pushed down a nearby wall, which fell into an inky, black void. The other three walls in the room soon followed, leaving the two of them stranded on a floor in the middle of nowhere.

“Alright,” the other Anju said. “I’m only going to say this once, so you’d better be paying attention.” She pulled off the mask and threw it into the darkness, whereupon it grew in size to the point where its menacing gaze eclipsed the horizon. “That’s me. Majora’s Mask. Or just ‘Majora’ if you want to keep things simple. An artifact of primordial chaos born from the death of the gods that blah blah blah who cares?“

Another mask appeared in Majora’s hand, and she placed the mask back on her head. “The gist is that most of the time I’m just a lifeless hunk of wood, but whenever some sap gets the bright idea to put me on, I make a twisted, evil copy of their soul, take control of their body, and try to destroy the world for my own inscrutable reasons. You with me so far?”

“I think so,” Anju said. “So what you’re saying is, you’re basically me, but with all the darkest impulses magnified.”

“Well I’m supposed to be!” Majora snapped. “Thing is, you’re such an empty-headed bimbo that you don’t have much of a dark side to begin with.” she sighed. “Take your husband’s wedding mask, for instance. If you found the man who stole it-”

“It was stolen?” Anju said. 

“Yes, yes, some dickhead stole the mask and gave you me instead. Stay with me, here!” Majora snapped. “So let’s say we found the guy who stole your husband’s mask.”

Anju thought for a moment. “Well, it was quite expensive, but we could always get another. And it’s not like we needed the mask for our wedding in the first place…”

“EXACTLY!” Majora shouted. “You’re too fucking nice! You should want to strangle him with his own intestines, not let him get away with it!” The giant mask behind Majora burst into flames. “I’ve got nothing to work with! And I can’t just grab another host, because if I did that I’d have to make a copy of their soul, while my own soul would just fade away into nothing!”

Anju continued her deep breaths to stay calm, despite Majora’s increasing vitriol. It was at this point she started to realize that this must be the dream. Well, not a dream, exactly. It was too vivid to be a dream, and she was pretty sure her imagination wasn’t twisted enough come up with this “Majora” figure.

Which means those vague memories of blood and murder must have been what was going on outside. And that means…

“Kafei’s coming to save me?” Anju asked, beaming.

“Oh gods yes!” Majora said “I thought I could get rid of that punk by turning him into a child, but that just made him more determined than ever! And I can’t just get rid of him because-”

“Because you love him?” Anju said. 

Majora’s mouth hung wide open. “W-what? No! Of course not!” Majora stammered. “I just said all that stuff because, well, to mess with him! You know?” 

“Ah, yes. I understand.” Anju smiled. “I understand completely.”

“GHAAAAAAAAAAAAH.” Majora screamed. “You’re just lucky I can’t make you feel pain in this crazy psycho dream-realm thing!”

“You can’t?” Anju said. “Well, that’s a load off my mind.”

Majora facepalmed. “Your know what, forget it,” she said. “I’ve got plans I gotta take care of, so just sit here and rot why don’t ya?” And with a puff of smoke, Majora vanished.

_ “Thank goodness.” _ Anju thought, falling to her knees. She was finally safe, alone in her own mind... assuming that’s where this was. It was hard to put up a brave face like that, especially once the memories started flowing back. The idea of that monster using her own hands to kill The Empress was disturbing enough as it was, let alone the rest of the destruction she caused.

_ “...but I just have to hope that Kafei saves me,” _ she thought.  _ “After all… that hope is all that I’ve got left.” _

* * *

Kafei couldn’t sleep.

They were halfway between Termina and Great Bay, and had picked a quiet hill on which to camp. Max was already fast asleep inside the carriage, while Jade was taking first watch. She spent the night sewing sheets of cloth onto the hem of her tabard, extending it to the point it appeared more like a dress than a jacket. 

“I’m just trying something out,” Jade said, unprompted.

“Pardon?” Kafei asked. 

“I’m trying something out. I want to see if I can make this suit look more ladylike.” Almost emphatically, she snipped the string with her teeth.

“Ladylike,” Kafei repeated.

“Yeah. You know, pretty,” Jade said, effortlessly stringing a thread through another one of her needles.

“Why?” asked Kafei.

“Do I need a reason?” Jade replied. “I mean, I make most of my clothes as it is; might as well try to make them look good.”

“Ah. I see.” Kafei looked at the sleeping fairy in her jar, remembering that Jade called her “Opal”. Now that he could get a better view, he saw that Opal wasn’t so much a glowing ball of light, but a tiny humanoid whose neon pink bob cut constantly radiated a soft glow. The tiny creature was wearing a miniature blouse, suspenders, and glasses, which Jade no doubt had a hand in crafting. She had previously been reading some sort of engineering textbook, which Jade had propped up on a stand so she could read while in her bottle. The fairy would climb out of the bottle to turn the page, but right now she was fast asleep.

“Her name’s Opal,” Jade said, not looking up from her work.

“Yeah, I know. We met, remember?” Kafei replied. “What were you doing at that house, anyway?”

“Checking it,” Jade said, snipping another thread. “My uncle used to live there. My dad and I visited a few times.”

“Really?” Kafei said. “So you’re from Termina?”

“Sorta.” Jade said. “I was sent to an orphanage in Lorule after my dad died.”

“That’s strange…” Kafei said, rubbing his chin. “There are plenty of good orphanages in Clock Town.” He looked her over again. She looked so domestic, sitting there sewing, with a needle in her mouth and a thimble on her finger, that it was hard to reconcile her with the hulking armored warrior he’d seen the day before. He’d expected one of the Empress’s Iron Knuckles to be a perfect soldier, someone who was never “off.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a strange world,” Jade replied. “So are you going to bed, or are you going to ogle me all night?

“What?!” Kafei blushed. “No! I would never—-”

“Not in that way,” Jade cut him off with a sharp gesture. “I mean in a ‘look at the giant freak’ sorta way.” she paused. “Though I guess some people are into that. I won’t judge.”

“Oh no, sorry…” he shook his head. “I was just thinking about Anju.”

“No duh,” Jade replied, starting another stitch. “Look, what happened to her sucks, and you clearly care about her. But you’re not going to get anything done sitting around and moping about it. In fact you’ll probably get less than nothing done if you don’t get some shut-eye.”

“...I guess you’re right.” Kafei sighed, crawling onto his straw-filled palette. “Good night, Jade.”

“G’night,” Jade said. She never left her sewing through the whole conversation, and kept at it a ways into the night.

And soon, Kafei fell asleep.


	9. Dawn of the 5th Day

Kafei woke up the next morning to the sound of rain pounding against the roof of the carriage, which was moving along at a brisk pace. Evidently he had been moved in his sleep, for he was lying on the bench opposite to Jade. She was fast asleep, using an old book of fairy tales as a makeshift pillow. 

Looking out the window, Kafei saw Max driving the carriage once more. The weather had forced him to swap his inquisitorial robes for a blue rubber poncho.

On a whim, the inquisitor turned his head and saw Kafei. “Ah, good, you’re awake,” he said. “Come up here; I’ve been driving for hours and I could use a little more intellectual stimulation.”

Kafei quietly obliged, opening the sunroof and climbing into the driver’s chair next to the inquisitor, grabbing an umbrella along the way.

“By my estimate, we should only be a few hours from Great Bay,” Said Maximilian. “Tell me, what do you know of the place?”

Kafei thought for a moment. “Well, it’s a coastline, obviously. It’s tropical, and warm all year round, making it a perfect tourist destination. It’s a major port as well. Most of the permanent residents are ocean Zora, who live inside a small town built inside of a coral reef.”

“Yes, yes, I know all that,” Max interrupted with a dismissive wave. “Any child who knows the first thing about Termina knows that. I was referring to current news, gossip and the like!”

Kafei frowned. “Well… normally the weather is pretty calm, but as of last week there’s been nonstop rainstorms. Not only that, but the few traders who try to brave the storms are assailed by pirates.”

“The Dragmire Pirates?” Maximillian asked.

“If the rumors are to be believed,” Kafei replied. “We suspect that they’re privateers that went rogue, but the Sultana of the Thunder Kingdom has been deliberately coy in that regard.”

“Well that’s not surprising,” Maximillian said, twirling his mustache. “After all, we paid good money to fund their little operation.”

“...what?” Kafei stared at him blankly, trying to process that and failing. 

“Oh don’t sound so surprised,” Maximillian said, dismissively. “Politics are often messy and underhanded. Termina acts as a buffer between Lorule and the Thunder Kingdom, and by funding the pirates, The Empress has stymied the Thunder Kingdom’s efforts to infiltrate the Terminan economy. I might not have had any input on the matter, but I approve of her actions immensely.”

“You approve of the empress funding piracy!?” Kafei shouted, his voice echoing through the countryside.

“In the abstract, yes,” Maximillian said with a shrug. “After all, the Thunder Kingdom has a more favorable trading route than Lorule does. And if they could establish an economic foothold, no doubt Termina would soon fall under their rule.”

“And how’s your rule any better?” Kafei said.

“We don’t rule you, we’re simply looking out for your nation’s best interest,” Max said.

“I’m sure the Sultana would say the same thing,” Kafei snapped, crossing his arms.

“Well the Sultana would be wrong,” Max said. “And in any case, they were the Thunder Kingdom’s privateers first. What would you have proposed to do differently?”

“Form a militia to track down and destroy the pirates?” Kafei said.

“Then the Sultana would just hire more privateers,” Max said. “In fact, there’s a good chance she’d bribe the very people you sent to take down the last pirates.”

“Not if they’re locals, trying to defend their homes,” Kafei said.

Maximillian rolled his eyes. “You have a very naive view of the world, Mr. Dotour.”

“And I think you’ve got a very cynical one,” Kafei replied.

“Well regardless of our perspectives, the facts still remain thusly;” Maximillian said. “The Dragmire pirates, being aligned with Lorule, are our best bet for assistance against Majora should we come to blows with her.”

“Fine, but we’re still going to need to stop at Zora Hall,” Kafei said, watching as the landscape gradually changed from grassy hills to muddy sand dunes. “Someone might have seen which way Majora went.”

“Assuming it’s still standing,” Maximillian added.

“...yes,” Kafei glumly replied. “Assuming it’s still standing.”

* * *

As it turns out, Zora Hall was still standing, though the mood was so dour that one might be forgiven for thinking otherwise. None of the shops and booths that lined the waterfront were open due to inclement weather, and the ferryman was surprised that there were tourists who still bothered to show up. Within the hall, things seemed even more dour; it was as if everyone inside had lost the will to live.

After asking around the reason became apparent. Lulu, a local celebrity who sang in popular jazz bad, had a clutch of eggs stolen from her. But as bad as this would seem to humans, this was an even bigger deal to the Zora; they lived extremely long lives, and as such it was rare for any given community to have children more than once or twice a decade. 

“...and you’re sure it was pirates?” Maximillian said.

“Yup.” He was speaking to Toto, the manager of the Indigo-Go’s. “She was getting a checkup at the research center making sure her kids were healthy, when a bunch of sword-wielding ladies came out of nowhere to trash the place.” The portly Zora wiped his forehead, so distraught that he was sweating. Or maybe he was just naturally sweaty. “Lucky thing that she and the old man got out of there alive. Hasn’t spoken a word since.”

“Really, now?” Maximillian asked, rubbing his chin. “Because the way I hear it, your singer lost her voice before the pirates attacked.”

“H-hey now! The order doesn’t really matter!” Toto said, balling his fists. “Look, we had to cancel our carnival gig either way. Morale’s at an all time low, and we’re kind of a mess after Mikau went and died on us...”

“The guitarist?” Maximillian plied.

“Yeah…” Toto turned away from him and poured himself a drink. “They were his kids, ya know. But the poor fool got it in his head to try to storm the gates. Bet he didn’t even make it to the hideout before the storm bashed his brains out,” he sighed. “I’m gonna miss that sonofabitch….” 

“But you’re saying that’s all that’s happened?” Maximillain said. “No other strange occurrences? No masked women with strange powers?” He knew he was leading the witness, but he needed answers.

“Look, man; I don’t know what to tell you,” the manager said. “We’re all just kinda bummed out right now, and we ain’t got time to look for trouble; we’ve got enough trouble as it is.” He took a swig from his glass. “So unless you’re here to pay their ransom, then I kindly suggest you bug off.”

“...of course,” Maximillian said. He held back a sigh, not wanting to seem defeated. “I’m sorry for wasting your time.”

As he left the room, he found Kafei standing their, listening in on their conversation with a glass pressed against the door. Toto seemed to have noticed this, but only gave a resigned sigh, and shook his head.

“I take it you heard everything,” Maximillian said.

“Pretty much,” Kafei replied. “You still think piracy was a good idea?”

Maximillian ignored him. “Just as I thought, this was a dead end. Nobody in Zora Hall had spotted Majora, and the port ledgers suggest nobody was out at sea during the time Majora would have passed through here. Ergo—-”

“You want us to talk with the pirates,” Kafei finished.

“If no other opportunity presents itself, yes,” Max shrugged.

“...do we even know where they are?” Kafei said.

“That shouldn’t be too difficult to find out,” Maximillian replied. “In fact, after reviewing the sea charts I have a fairly good idea of where they might be…”

“Okay, but that doesn’t change the fact that… you know what, never mind,” Kafei looked around. “Have you seen Jade anywhere?”

“I thought she was with you,” Maximillian said. 

“She’s your bodyguard, not mine,” Kafei retorted.

Max snorted. “Well it’s not like she’s difficult to find.” Maximillian picked a direction and started walking. “I mean… where could she have gone?”

* * *

Jade held Opal in the palm of her hand as she gazed upon the springs, sprockets and cogs that lay before her. The salvage shop may have been cramped and dingy, but it was a rare opportunity for Opal, being one of the few times she’d come out of her bottle for more than a few seconds.

“Wow…” Opal gasped. “I’ve never seen anything like this before!”

The old Zora manning the salvage shop laughed. “So, your fairy likes machines, does she?” he said. “Thought they were all hurt by iron and whatnot.”

“That’s just a myth,” Jade said. “Besides, I don’t think these are made of iron anyway.”

“That’s right!” Opal said. “They don’t look like any metal I’ve seen before! And you say you found them underwater?”

“Buried in a sandbar,” the old man nodded. “You find all kinds of stuff ‘round there, on account of the Temple.”

“The Temple?” Jade asked.

“Yeah, the Great Bay Temple,” the shop owner replied. “Giants were supposed to have built it to keep the ocean calm or something. Fat lot of good that’s doing!” The old Zora howled with laughter. “I’ve actually got a map if you're interested.” He unfurls a piece of strange, waterproof parchment, depicting a dotted line winding past several oceanic monuments, before leading to a large X, drawn in red.

After a pause, Jade said “Looks more like a treasure map, to me.”

“That it is!” the old man cried. “There’s supposed to be some sort of amazing treasure inside the temple. Been there myself once or twice, I never found a way inside.”

“...I guess it looks nice, at least,” Jade said. “How much for it?”

“Fifty rupees,” the Zora said. Jade obliged, handing him a large purple rupee.

The shopkeeper flipped it into the air and caught it. “Pleasure doing business with ya!” he said.

Jade left the store with her map in hand, holding it out so that Opal could see. “A mechanical temple out in the ocean… do you think it’s real?” Opal asked, hovering over the location marked on the map. “The temple, I mean.”

Jade shrugged. “Anything’s possible,” she said. “I mean those doodads had to come from somewhere.”

“Even Lorule doesn’t have metals like that!” Opal said. “I’ll bet those ‘giants’ were some kind of super-advanced ancient civilization!”

“That’s an interesting theory, but I’m afraid the giants were all too real.” Said a familiar voice. Jade turned her head to find Maximillian and Kafei trailing her. 

“Eep!” Opal gasped, before she quickly fled back into her bottle.

“Oh don’t be shy, little one,” Maximillian said, examining the bottled fairy. “After all, we’re all friends here, aren’t we? And the way you were speaking of metalurgy just now, it’s clear that you’re far from a dumb beast.”

“Opal doesn’t speak to humans,” Jade stated, covering Opal’s bottle with her sash. 

“So what does that make you, then?” Maximillian asked.

Jade narrowed her eyes at her employer. “An exception.”A thick tension filled the air. And Kafei was desperate to say anything to disperse it.

“So um,” he began, scrambling to think of anything, “what do you mean about the giants? I thought they were just characters from fairy tales and the like.”

Maximillian smirked. “And indeed they are. I’m sure you’re familiar with the old tales?”

“I’m not,” said Jade.

“You're not missing much.” said Max, picking a bit of lint off his sleeve. “It’s a ‘just-so story’ to explain the differing climes of Termina, as well as a primitive attempt to answer the question of evil. In reality, the giants were simply drones created by the wicked goddesses of old to build and maintain their divine war machines.”

Kafei frowned. “...are you sure about that?”

“Am I sure?” the Inquisitor sputtered, “The War of the Goddesses is well documented! We have recovered hundreds of fell artifacts from before their fall! Entire continents still bear the scars brought by their battles! And if that weren't enough, the Empress has transcribed visions of past events granted to her by the Triforce, which lead to even further discoveries!”

“...if that’s the case, why do so many people still revere the giants?” asked Kafei.

“That’s because humans have an incredible talent for self-deception,” Maximillian said. “Divine power is that which ‘cheats’ at the laws that run the universe. Such power is not to be worshiped, but rather despised. Divinity is an anathema to reason, drawing fools and charlatans alike.”

Kafei now regretted bringing up the topic. But this time it was Jade’s turn to save the conversation.

“Well, this treasure map thing’s supposed to lead to some sorta temple,” Jade said. “Assuming it’s real, of course.”

“Which is highly unlikely,” Maximillian scoffed. “Not that we have time for such a detour.”

“Agreed,” Kafei said, relieved to finally be off the subject. “Anyway, we’re going after the pirates. Do you have everything you need?”

“Yup,” Jade said. “Just point me at ‘em.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” said Max. “Luckily, I think I’ve found a land route to our destination...”

As they left, Kafei mulled over the Inquisitor's words. Being an educated man, he knew about the evidence that Maximillian spoke of; it was hard to argue that the goddesses who created the world did not delight in their cruelty. But It seemed almost as cruel to write off most of the world as being irridemably stupid.  _ “Surely the gods weren’t all evil,”  _ he thought.  _ “If they were, wouldn’t Termina have been destroyed long ago?” _

After all, the giants might have been just stories. But wasn’t Majora just a story, too?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone's wondering why there's a bit of a gap between the time I published the last chapter and the time I published this one, it's because my editor and I ended up taking a break for the holidays.


	10. Noon of the 5th Day

As it turns out, the pirates’ hideout wasn’t far from Zora Hall, a quarter-day’s journey at the very most, even with the rain. They debated for a bit whether to leave the carriage behind at the stable, and decided that the terrain was going to be too rough to risk it, instead breaking out the saddles for Burg and Errol, their draft horses. And it was a good thing they did, as their route turned out to be much more difficult than expected. Their path was stymied at every turn by collapsing sand dunes struggling under the weight of constant rainwater, and the few places that were clear of sand were instead slippery, earthen cliffsides, or little valleys flooded with rainwater. 

Kafei had no idea how to ride a horse, and since he wasn’t particularly keen on being so close to Maximillian, he ended up having to ride in the same saddle as Jade. He felt somewhat guilty about this, feeling that it was somehow wrong of him to be so close to another woman while his fiance was missing. His fears were immediately dissuaded once they actually started riding, as the ongoing storm made it impossible to focus on anything other than the trail ahead, washing his fears of unintended romantic developments away. 

The land reeked with the smell of rot, as plants drowned where they stood, accompanied only by the sound of frightened birds, fleeing for land. Leevers sprung from their hiding places, only to bury themselves just as quickly. The spider-like Tektites, normally docile scavengers, scurried from cover to cover, desperate to find food. One was driven so mad by hunger that it attempted to pounce on the party, but Jade drove it a way by bashing the creature with her shield. They even found a Like-Like, the notorious metal-eating worms which are the bane of any industrialized society, flopping around pathetically as it drowned in a puddle, it’s membrane ruptured by the harsh winds.

By the time they made it to the caves leading to the hideout, the party was thoroughly soaked, despite their ponchos. Even the horses were beginning to shiver, so it was agreed to hitch them to a sturdy-looking stalagmite in the shelter of the cave mouth, and make the rest of the journey on foot. For a moment, they were worried that they had made a wrong turn somewhere, as the caverns seemed to go on without end. But Max’s keen eye spotted signs of habitation; a scuff mark here, a dropped trinket there, and by the time they found a broken bottle of lamp oil (no doubt left from an accident) they knew they were on the right track.

Eventually, their persistence paid off, as they exited the other side of the cave to find themselves on a cliff overlooking a large cove, where a fearsome fortress had been built. Kafei could scarcely believe such a place could have been hidden; it seemed more like a military base than a hideout, complete with watchtowers and patrolling guards. Looking through his binoculars, Kafei could see that they were all gerudo women (not surprising, knowing that there are very few Gerudo men), lightly armored but heavily armed, adorned with jeweled headdresses and seemingly unfazed by the dour weather. 

“Any idea how to get past them?” Kafei said.

“We aren’t,” Maximillian replied. “Remember, we’re here to parley with them, not enact some sort of ridiculous sneaking mission.”

“Plus, I’m pretty sure I could take ‘em, if it came to that,” Jade scoffed, having seized the binoculars from Kafei. “Those idiots aren’t even wearing armor.”

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Maximillian said, raising his finger. “Their jewelry isn’t just for show; those are talismans from the Thunder Kingdom that use the wearer’s own mana to create a barrier. If you look closely, you can see that even the raindrops are bouncing off of them.”

“Oh yeah, thanks for the heads-up,” Jade said, as she continued to look through the binoculars. “Kinda makes me wish I could use magic…”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that kind of risky?” Kafei added. “I mean, producing all that mana can get pretty exhausting.”

“Exactly, which is why magic tools are typically used by shock troops for quick skirmishes.” Max said. “Unfortunately, that strategy works all too well for pirates.”

“Okay okay, I get it; don’t pick any fights,” Jade said. “But there’s something I don’t get. Why isn’t there anyone guarding the back entrance?”

Jade turned to her companions expecting a response, but they were nowhere to be seen.

“Aww fu-” Jade began to say. 

And then the world exploded in a flash of light.

* * *

Kafei woke up with a splitting headache. He thought this was unusual, because he wasn’t quite sure why he fell asleep in the first place; he had been standing there with Jade and Max on a cliff overlooking the pirate stronghold, when he suddenly felt very tired.  _ “A sleeping drug…” _ he thought, as his brain cells began firing properly. Once he realized that his arms were bound at the wrist by a length of rope, and everything became clear.

“So, ye think you can just waltz up to the front door of our keep, and stride on in like ye own the place?” said a rough, gravelly voice. Kafei looked up and found that he was in a makeshift throne room, where a large, red-haired man lounged in a throne made of barrels and crates. The man was built like a tower of bronze, dressed in tattered, ill-fitting robes that barely concealed his rippling muscles, and were no doubt pilfered from a wealthy trader. “You’ve got guts, kid, I’ll grant ye that,” the man drawled, his smile revealing a large, golden tooth. “But ye’d sooner be an Oktorok’s uncle than to pull one over the eyes of the great Ganondorf Dragmire!”

“Mister Dragmire, I implore you to listen—-” Kafei turned toward the sound just in time to see a bound Maximillian be slapped by a Gerudo woman with an eyepatch, who stood almost as tall as Jade. 

“That’s Captain Dragmire to ye, bilge rat!” the woman shouted. 

Turning to his right he saw Jade similarly bound, with her confiscated weapons piled in a corner alongside with Tingle’s balloon harness, as well as the rest of their supplies.

“Ye ought to count yerself lucky,” the captain went on with a casually menacing air. “Normally, I’d run ye all down while ya stand. But it’s Carnival season, and I be feelin’ generous.” He held up a single finger. “Ye each get one chance to explain yerself, and maybe if I’m satisfied, I won’t feed ye to the sharks.”

“Ah, yes, how kind of you mi- Captain Dragmire,” Maximillian said, only slightly trembling as he corrected himself. “I am a humble emissary of the Empire of Lorule, an inquisitor appointed by Her Unending Majesty, the Eternal Empress Hilda Adfinitum Lorule, sent on a mission of utmost importance. A quest, upon which the fate of the empire may rest, if not the entire world.”

“So?” Ganondorf scoffed. “What’s yer point?”

“...as you are no doubt aware, our empire is in a mutually beneficial relationship with your… organization,” Max continued. “As such, I believe it would be within reason to ask for assistance in tracking down a most dangerous enemy of the crown...”

The captain immediately burst into laughter. “Ye want our help? Oh that’s rich!” he leapt to his feet and pounced on Maximilian like a tiger. The captain grabbed the inquisitor, and hoisted him over his head up for all to see. “Ya hear that, mates? This dog o’ the empire says he needs our help!” 

The rest of the hall soon began to howl with laughter, causing Maximillian to avert his eyes. 

The captain then held Max right in front of him, staring him right in the eyes. “Listen well, ye barnicle-scrubbing whelp, for ye’ll be taking this to yer grave.” he rumbled. “Yer empire might pay us, but ye don’t own us anymore than a sailor owns the sea. And there’s nothin’ more that I hate than a pencil-pushing scrub who thinks that thinks he’s the king of the world just because he knows a few fancy words,” he let go of the inquisitor, dropping him to the floor.

“The empire won’t stand for this!” the cowering inquisitor stammered.

“Well, you know what they say…” the captain grinned. “Dead men tell no tales.”

Leaving the traumatized inquisitor behind, Captain Ganondorf Dragmire walked over to Kafei. “Alright boy,” he drawled, “What’s yer story?”

“Well…” Kafei gulped. “...I’m trying to save my fiance—-”

“You? Married?” the pirate captain scoffed. “What are ye, like, twelve?”

“Twenty-three, actually,” Kafei said. “I only look like this because of a curse…”

The captain stroked his fiery, pepper-and-salt beard. “That’s a bit of a tall tale, lad. But I’ll humor ye,” he said with a low chuckle. “What’s this gal like, anyway?”

“Well,” Kafei began to say, “She’s thin, has dark red hair, and has the most gorgeous smile…” Kafei then began to talk at length about Anju, relaying the story of how their first met, and how they grew up together. He told the captain about how her heart was broken when her dad died, leaving behind a void that she once worried could never be filled. He even explained to the captain about his proposal, three months ago, how his reservation to a restaurant got lost, forcing him he ended up having to cook their romantic meal all by himself. 

And against his better judgement, he talked about the mask. That accursed mask that stole Anju away from him, and replaced her with a doppleganger with the powers of a crazed godling. And, most of all, Kafei spoke of his fears that she was lost, and hope that she could be found.

“...I suppose I spoke too soon. About the tall tales, I mean.” the captain said, scratching the back of his neck. “Either you’ve got troubles I can’t even imagine... or ye just gave me the biggest load o’ bunk I ever heard,” he nodded. “Either way, ye have a future as a cabin boy ahead of ye.”

The eyepatch-wearing Gerudo untied his arms. “...wait… what do you mean?”

“Just what I said! Welcome to the crew, laddie!” The captain said. “‘Course, ye don’t have to stay if ye don’t want to. But it sounds to me like yer girl is a bit of a lost cause, and ye can clearly spin a good yarn. So how ‘bout ye join up with us?”

Kafei stared at the floor. Was this guy really so callous as to expect him to give up on Anju? 

“Why?” Kafei said. “So I can help you kill people, and rob from the innocent?”

Ganondorf sighed. He then got down on his knees, and put his hand on Kafei’s should. “Laddie, no one in this world is innocent,” he said. “Everyone from the richest king to the lowliest peasant wants something outta ya, and they’ll take it the moment they get the chance.”

“You mean like Lulu’s eggs?” Kafei said. “Those were her children...”

“Aye! And we had every intention to give them back if they just paid up, if only that damn-fool didn’t get himself killed trying to steal em back.” Ganondorf said, walking away. “He had one foot in the grave when we found ‘im, barely laid a finger on the poor bastard, and he jus’ went and died,” he shook his head “They’ll be hatching soon, no doubt. Not sure what’ll happen then. Might just end up having to raise them as me own.”

The captain then turned around, and walked up to Jade. “But enough about the boy… what’s yer angle, wench?” 

“I’m with them,” said Jade,tilting her head towards Kafei and Max. “I fight stuff for them.” 

Ganondorf looked her up and down. “An’ the way our guards tell it, yer tough enough to shrug off our sleeping draught.”

“Yeah,” said Jaid. “I’m immune to magic. That’s a thing, I guess.”

“Very interesting…” said Ganondorf. “Do ye want to join our crew?” 

There was a brief pause as Jade thought it over. “No,” she said.

Ganondorf frowned. “You sure ye don’t have anything else to tell me?”

“Nah,” Jade said. “I mean, I got a treasure map, but I dunno if it’s real?”

Ganondorf’s eyes lit up. “Treasure?”

“Yeah. To the Great Bay Temple. Bought it from a junk shop,” she gestured to the pouch where the map was kept, and Ganondorf grabbed the map.

Then, Kafei got an idea. “Captain! How about we make a deal?” Kafei said.

“...what kind of deal, boy?” the captain said.

“You still want us on our crew?” Kafei inquired. “Well… how about a trial run? Help us find Majora, and we’ll not only let you keep the treasure in the temple, but we’ll even help you find it!”

Ganondorf nodded thoughtfully. “Aye… that could be arranged… but what’s the catch?”

“You’ll have to free the inquisitor and return Lulu’s eggs,” Kafei said. “Consider the map a… down payment of sorts.”

“Alright lad,” the captain said, “You got yerself a deal!” 

Kafei breathed a sigh of relief.


	11. Night of the 5th Day

Lying at the bottom of the ocean was a man that was too stubborn to die.

He was supposed to  _ do _ things with his life.  _ Great _ things.  _ Amazing  _ things. Things that would shape the very fates themselves! He would live forever, in spirit if not in fact! The world was his canvas, upon which he would have produced his masterpiece!

But that flame was snuffed out before it began. All because of a few small-minded fools who couldn’t appreciate the beauty of his vision.

It all seemed so promising, once. He was the miracle child, a leader figure born once a century, heralded as the savior that would bring his people to greatness! Or at least he would have been, had he not the misfortune of having a twin brother. A twin brother who was foolish enough not to recognize his superiors. So naturally, he had Ganondorf banished from the Kingdom by framing him for treason. Thus was the fate of all who futility strove to surpass The Gods’ Chosen.

The Gods’ Chosen… yes, the man at the bottom of the ocean always knew that the gods favored him, for he was blessed with a fragment of their power. The easterners called it  _ Superbia Tripotentiae _ , or the Triforce of Pride. But the name didn’t matter. He simply called it “the Power of the Gods”.

So what if the gods were despised? Did they not possess the power to shape the world in the era of legend? And is it not a feature of the human condition to submit to power? Lorule may despise the goddesses, only to turn around and worship their so-called “Eternal Empress”. No, it was clear to the man that from the very beginning of the world, the only true purpose was the attainment of power. If anything, the downfall of the gods came from the fact that they were too perfect, too similar, too equally matched. 

Were he to escape his watery prison, Yuga Dragmire, the man at the bottom of the ocean, would not repeat that mistake. For the world to be perfect, there had to be a hierarchy, a Great Chain of Being, atop of which could only be one man. He would make sure to have the missing piece of the Triforce, the Triforce of Cowardice, before he attempted to steal the third.

His plan was elegant in its simplicity. He would usurp the Sultana, and use his power to lead the Thunder Kingdom to a golden age of splendor and opulence never before seen. At the same time, Yuga would create a series of destabilizing conflicts around the world, that would force the bearer of the Triforce of Cowardice to seek asylum in Yuga’s own kingdom. then yuga would announce throughout the lands that he will shelter the bearer of the triforce of cowardice… only for him to steal the Triforce.

From there, it would be simply be a matter of time before he defeated Hilda and obtained the third piece of the Triforce.

Alas, he had misjudged how far the perfect world once envisioned by the gods had fallen. Rather than being overjoyed at the vision Yuga offered, the small-minded sultana recoiled at the very idea. As it turns out, the hypocritical tendrils Empress of Lorule were already wrapped around the Sultana, warning her in advance of about Yuga’s inevitable “betrayal”. 

But though they bound Yuga in chains, they could find no way to kill him, as the divine power that rested within prevented his demise. So instead, they did the next best thing; weighing him down with chains, and tossing him into the ocean, to suffer in deathless eternity.

That was three years ago. Three years of torment his body struggling to expel the water filling Yuga’s lungs. Three years of atrophy, as his muscles wasted away and the abyssal brine bleached his once-bronzed skin into pasty white. Three years of bordom in the inky depths, with nothing to keep him company but his own thoughts, and the glow from the occasional anglerfish—-

Except… that wasn’t a fish he saw there, was it?

It was a mask. A heart-shaped mask whose eyes glowed with yellow light was slowly drifting towards him. And what’s more, there seemed to be a person wearing the mask; a woman in a white dress, somehow walking along the ocean floor as if it were no big deal.

Yuga’s bloodshot eyes blinked. He was no stranger to hallucinations at this point, but normally there was some sort of personalization and internal consistency; a vision of his brother come to torment him, perhaps, which Yuga would smite through sheer force of will. But this particular vision, if that’s what it was, seemed unusually resistant to imaginary smiting.

“Hm. You’re scrawnier than I expected,” Yuga heard someone say. It took him a moment to realize that it was the masked figure speaking, despite how impossible that seemed. “But you’ll do.”

The masked woman motioned as if sitting down, and suddenly a table full of tea and cookies appeared before her. “Help yourself!” she said, motioning to the baked goods, which began to gradually float upwards.

Hallucination or not, this was the closest thing to real food Yuga had seen in weeks, the last thing he’d eaten being a haunch of whale carcass dropped by a shark and carried on the currents by sheer chance to land at his feet. He reached for the desserts, only for them to crumble into watery paste in his hand. He desperately tried to shove the remains in his mouth, only to find them overpowered by the ever-present taste of salt. He then reached for the teakettle to try and suck the tea out before it dispersed,only to end up gagging as sea-water filled his stomach.

“Anyway. I was hoping for some girl-to-girl talk, but then I noticed you weren't actually a girl. Unless you are of course; even I’m not enough of a monster to purposely misgender someone,” the masked woman spoke with a very casual air as if she’d just dropped by to the bottom of the ocean to recruit him into a pyramid scheme.

Yuga opened his mouth to say something, but whatever magic this woman was using to talk underwater, she didn’t extend it to him.

“It’s about this guy, see,” the masked woman said, tilting up her mask to reveal a face that was perfectly ordinary, save for a pair of glowing yellow eyes. “I’m head over heels for him, but he’s got eyes for another girl. Except that other girl is also technically me.” She slouched on the table, continuing to ignore Yuga’s torment. “You ever feel like that?”

Yuga flailed around, silently screaming obscenities. Was she trying to be funny?!

“Yeah, I didn’t think you would.” the masked woman sighed, shaking her head. “Maybe he’d like me more if I played hard to get? You know, made him desperate?” 

This had to be a joke. He just knew it. Any moment now he would close his eyes and everything would be gone; the masked woman, the tea set, everything!

“Soooooo… I got this idea,” the masked woman said. “How about you pretend to be my boyfriend to make him jealous, and in return I’ll release you from your eternal, unceasing agony!” she batted her glowing eyes at Yuga. “Do we have a deal?”

Yuga said nothing because he was drowning.

“Oh, right. I forgot,” the woman said. “You can’t very well say anything down here. Going up!”

With a snap of her fingers, the ocean floor began to shake. Then, a large chunk of the ground began to rise upwards, carrying Yuga, the woman, and her table with it. The rapid depressurization was utter agony to Yuga, as bubbles of nitrogen crawled up his veins before exploding in his brain with force beyond any mere hallucination. But this pain was a welcome reprieve from the utter tedium the last three years had been.

The light above grew brighter and brighter, and with thundering crash they breached the surface, only to find a raging storm. The woman was unperturbed by this, and simply conjured an umbrella. “So as I was saying…” the woman continued, her voice coming through crystal clear despite the howling winds. “...do we have a deal?”

After a minute or two of violently coughing the water out of his lungs, and another minute or so of relishing the first air he’d breathed in three years Yuga looked up at the woman. Whoever, or rather whatever this woman was, she was far more powerful than Yuga. And yet he couldn’t sense the Triforce within her.

_ “The Mask…”  _ he thought.  _ “...that must be the source of her power.” _

“Well?” asked the woman, crossing her arms. “Do we have a deal or not?”

Yuga reached out accept her hand, and gently kissed her on the wrist. “Of course, milady,” he said, his voice hoarse and wet from three years of salt water, sounding like he was in the late stages of pneumonia. “I shall do whatever it is you ask...”

“Ooh, I like it! Keep calling me that,” the woman said, looking over the horizon. “At least in front of my love. Otherwise you can just call me Majora.”

“Yes, of course… Lady Majora.” Yuga said, smiling as he thought to himself. He recognized that name, “Majora”. It was the name of a demon that a certain tribe once summoned from the Chromatic Realm, a space between worlds that the tribe ended up sealing themselves within to contain the demon once more. 

One would think that this would be the end of the tribe, but texts found in the deepest archives of the Thunder Kingdom’s royal library tell a different story. It was a scroll containing the ravings of a madman, a so-called “heretic king” who claimed to be a member of the lost tribe, banished from the chromatic realm for his worship of the demon that his ancestors were tasked with protecting. By his account, Majora was the stillborn offspring of the Goddesses, a being of power that “rivaled even the black triangles of the gods”.

It was that last claim that caught Yuga’s attention. While there had most certainly been bearers of the Triforce in the past, this account was written hundreds of years before the Lorule became an “Eternal Empire”. Once, Yuga dismissed those claims as a lunatic’s fever-dream. But now, it appeared that this “‘heretic king” may have just been on to something...

“Nah, just call me Majora,” said Majora with a dismissive wave. “Oh and put some clothes on.” she tossed a set of colorful robes at Yuga. “I mean I know you gotta be ugly to make my real boyfriend jealous, but at least show some modesty!”

It was a pity, then, that this “Majora” was such a vapid idiot. If she had enough sense to wield her powers properly, Yuga would have bowed before her unconditionally, taking his place beneath her in The Great Chain of Being. 

“By your will, Majora,” Yuga said, hiding his seething rage just behind a gracious facade.

It was a pity, but it had to be done. Yuga decided then and there that he would kill Majora and steal her mask… and with it, her power.

But for now, he just had to play the role of a loyal servant, and wait for the time to strike.


	12. Dawn of the 6th Day

Despite spending the previous night bawdily carousing, the Dragmire Pirates awoke bright and early to begin their preparations to set out for the Great Bay Temple. Kafei, despite being roped into their festivities as the “cabin boy candidate”, did not share their enthusiasm. He was unused to this kind of schedule and was on the verge of nodding off during breakfast. He wished he could have gone to bed early like Max had been forced to, though at least he and Jade got to sleep in surprisingly comfortable cots, while Max had to make do with being locked in a storage room.

Still, it wasn’t all bad; he got to learn a bit more about the people he was going to be traveling with. The first thing he learned was that not all of the pirates were Gerudo. A surprising number of the pirates were just ordinary folk who got fed up with thankless deckhand jobs on merchant vessels, and jumped at the chance to turn against their employers. Some were even ex-military from the Thunder Kingdom, who were won over by their new captain’s charm. 

And boy did the captain have charm; despite his talk of betrayal and people screwing each other over, he was a magnanimous sort among his own crew. He knew every member by name, and listened patiently to them when they spoke. He never kept the spotlight for too long, and frequently discussed matters his first mate, Aveil. As a result, even when he barked an order he came across less as a dreaded slavemaster and more as the first among equals, directing the crew towards a common goal.

It still didn’t make what they did right, however. They still had to kill people, for one thing. And even if a crew survived a run-in with the Dragmire Pirates, failure to protect their cargo would be a black mark on their records. One particularly dour Goron recounted how he used to be a renowned mercenary before the pirates robbed a vessel he was guarding, and he only ended up joining the crew because no one else would have him. At the end of the day, the Dragmire Pirates were still thieves, and Kafei had no intention of adopting that lifestyle. Plus, there were the stolen eggs to consider...

And there was another dilemma to consider. Eventually his father would die, and Kafei would likely have to take his place as lord-mayor of Clock Town, keystone of the Terminan Alliance. And now that he knew Lorule’s dealings with the pirates, he couldn’t just ignore it. Perhaps, once this was all over, he’d have a word with the Empress. It would be futile to have her own up to her crimes, but perhaps there was a more peaceful way of accomplishing the same result. Or perhaps he’d have to go to the Thunder Kingdom, and ask for their help in expelling Lorule’s influence. Though if he did that, Termina would just end up as the Sultana’s pawn instead of Lorule’s. 

Fearing that there wasn’t a good solution to this problem, he decided to take his mind off the issue by looking for Jade, who was busy chatting with a “thaumaturge”, which was apparently what they called glyphic engineers off in the Thunder Kingdom. Said thaumaturge was six feet tall, making her quite short by Gerudo standards, and sported a crew cut and a moon-shaped tattoo under her left eye. She was trying to get one of their shield devices to work on Jade, but didn’t seem to be having much luck.

“It’s no use,” she said. “I gave the thing its own mana supply, but the sensory glyph just isn’t registering you for some reason.”

“I told ya it wouldn’t work,” Jade said. “It’s not that I don’t have mana; I wouldn’t be talking to you if I did. It’s that magic just bounces off of me for some reason.”

“Right…” the thaumaturge muttered. “And even if we jury-rigged a manual trigger, the spell-shape glyph wouldn’t work, so the barrier wouldn’t form around you properly.”

“A manual trigger?” asked Jade.

“Yeah, like the ones in our guns.” she held up what appeared to be a flintlock pistol. “Gunpowder is unreliable in this weather, so we have to use fire glyphs instead.”

Jade looked down at her sash. Kafei could just barely make out Opal giving her a thumbs up.

“Mind if I borrow a couple of those guns, and maybe a sword or two?” asked Jade. “And by ‘borrow’ I mean, ‘take’, because you’re probably not going to get them back in one piece.”

“Oh yeah, go for it,” the pirate said. “These stupid things can’t shoot straight anyway; they’re mostly just for show.”

“Thanks.” Jade gathered up the flintlocks along with the shield-crown and some mana batteries. “You got somewhere quiet I can hang out for a bit?”

The pirate thought to herself. “Well, there’s the storeroom. But that friend of yours is still there...”

“I’ll deal with it,” Jade said. “Let me know when we shove off, ok?”

“Gotcha!” replied the thaumaturge. “Try not to break anything you you’re not supposed to!”

“I won’t,” Jade said, as she went towards the storage room.

Kafei tilted his head. What exactly were she and Opal planning? 

* * *

Maximillian was not in good spirits. True, the boy may have managed to talk the pirates out of sending him to an early grave, but this “treasure hunt” was a  _ completely _ unnecessary detour. And here he was, stuck in a dusty storeroom, nibbling a meager breakfast of hardtack and citrus fruit, while Majora could be halfway to the Thunder Kingdom for all they knew.

_ “And what’s to say the pirates would hold up their end of the bargain?” _ he thought.  _ “As soon as I get out of this, I must inform the empress to recind all deals with Captain Dragmire immediately! The Kingdom’s influence can be warded off another way, I’m certain of it—-” _

Just then, the door opened and Jade walked in, carrying an armload of devices, including two pistols and one of the pirates’ magic headdresses. Without giving Max so much as a second glance, she dropped the goods on the table, and carefully placed her fairy bottle to the side of it.

“So, can you do all that?” Jade said, in mid-conversation with her fairy. “I mean, it’s been awhile since I looked at textbook, but the theory should be sound...”

“Oh yeah, totally!” the fairy replied, fluttering onto the rim of her bottle. “That being said, there won’t be an easy way to recharge it...”

“We can worry about that later,” said Jade “I think I saw a rupee grinder at the junk store; we can pick one up on the way back.”

“That still wouldn’t be an ideal,” the fairy scratched. “Maybe if we harness the aether currents...” it was then that she looked up and spotted Maximillian, causing her to release a startled gasp.

“Oh geez.” Jade said, just now noticing Max herself. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him.” 

Before he could object, Jade grabbed Maximillian by the shoulders, and wheeled him out the door. 

“Now hold on a moment!” Max said, struggling free from Jade after leaving left the room. “What in Perdition gives you the right to manhandle your superior?" he exclaimed.

“I dunno, maybe the fact that you kinda suck at this leadership thing?” Jade said. “Besides, the empress said it’s my job to protect you, even from your own dumbass plans.”

“Yes, yes, I know what your job is; you don’t need to editorialize!” Max said.

“No, I’m serious. The empress actually said that,“ Jade replied. “And I quote; ‘Do make sure that Inquisitor Forthwind doesn’t get himself killed. For such a brilliant mind, the man has an awful tendency to make a fool of himself’.”

Maximillian stood there with his mouth agape. “The Empress… said that?”

“Yeah.” she said. “She also told me to stay quiet about my anti-magic thing. Fat load of good that did, though...”

“N-never mind!” the inquisitor sputtered, trying to change the subject. “What is your fairy doing in there, anyway?”

“Again, her name’s Opal,” Jade said, rolling her eyes. “And that’s none of your business.”

“She’s building something, isn’t she?” Max said. “I’ll bet that your pet is crafting some sort of device using the parts from the Pirates’ devices.” he rubbed his chin. “A thaumaturgist and an engineer, How fascinating! To think that a common fairy could be trained to-” 

Jade slammed her fist against the wall, and used her incredible height to loom over the inquisitor.

“Look. I’m only going to say this once,” Jade growled. “Opal is not my pet. She is my friend, and she’s every bit as much of a person as you and I.” her piercing gaze bore down on him like a pair of red-hot daggers. “And if I  _ ever _ hear you talk that way about her again, I’m going to leave you on the side of the road and finish this mission myself.” She bent down to look him directly in the eye. “Do you understand?”

“T-totally,” the inquisitor gulped.

“Good.” Jade said, patting his cheek. “Now try not to get into trouble.” And with that, she stepped back into the storeroom, and slammed the door shut.

Inquisitor Maximillian clutched his forehead. Why was nothing turning out like he planned?

* * *

After only a few more hours of preparation, _ The Phantom King _ , flagship of the Dragmire Pirates, had set sail. As ‘cabin boy’, Kafei was responsible for only the most menial tasks, such as passing along messages from one crew member to another, or fetching supplies from the hold. It was tough work even still; Kafei may have gotten used to his shorter legs, but he often had trouble remaining steady as the ship bobbed and tilted every which way. And it was even worse on the deck; the weather was particularly savage today, and the downpour made the deck slippery to the point of being nearly impossible to navigate. He nearly fell overboard once or twice, only for a watchful hand to grab him at the last second.

He was still coping better than Max. Being too sea-sick to stay in the hold, he had been put in the brig for his own safety, complete with a bucket for him to puke in. Jade was probably managing the best out of the three. She might not have had her sea-legs, but she was at least steady enough to help with the heavy lifting below deck.

As for Ganondorf himself, the captain wasn’t satisfied with remaining in his quarters. He strode up and down the deck, making sure that everything was in order. Occasionally he glanced at Jade’s map, and consulted an old compass to make sure that they were still on the right track. Their path took them past rocky spires and desert islands. But there were signs that they weren't the first to travel this path. Indeed, they passed many shipwrecks, acting as a warning all those who would travel this route. 

But the crew persisted, and with the captain’s guidance, the Great Bay Temple started to come into view. From a distance, it looked like an enormous fish breaching the ocean surface. But the crew had little time to dwell on this, for as they made their approach to the temple, the winds grew stronger than ever, threatening to blow them off course.

“Hold strong, me hearties!” the captain shouted over the howling winds. He turned to his first mate, who was looking through a spyglass. “Ye see anythin’ there, Aveil?”

“Aye, cap’n!” the woman said. “There’s an alcove in the temple’s mouth!”

“In that case, full speed ahead!” the captain shouted. “We’re makin’ a landing in that their alcove, or we’ll die trying!”

“What are you, crazy!?” Kafei shouted, already holding onto the railing for dear life. “You’ll get us all killed!”

Ganondorf chuckled. “Don’t you worry there, kid. These be professionals at work.” He then put his fingers to his lips and unleashed a piercing whistle. Immediately, the sails began to unfurl, catching the winds, and propelling the ship even faster through the storm. 

Kafei closed his eyes, as the temple rapidly grew in front of them, bracing for what would no doubt be a fatal impact, failing to notice that a couple dozen crew members armed with emerald-topped staves were taking position towards the bow.

“And… BREAK!” Aveil bellowed.

A split second before passing into the mouth of the stone fish, the staff-wielding women pointed their rods forward, and unleashed a blast of wind that quickly coalesced into white, fluffy cloud. Somehow, the cloud was solid enough to cushion the ship’s landing, as if it were some sort of giant pillow.

“Like that?” the captain said, wearing a smug grin all the while. “One of me grans taught me that trick, bless ‘er heart.” 

Kafei simply stood there, bewildered at everything that had just happened. Clearly, this was a ship of fools.

* * *

While the captain’s magic-powered gambit did keep everyone from dying a sudden and painful death, it did take a lot out of both the crew, and the ship itself. The hull was mostly intact, but the winds had done a number on the sails and bindings, and since nearly half the crew had worn themselves out conjuring the cloud, the other half was too busy making repairs to join the landing party. This left only Kafei, Jade, Max, and Captain Dragmire himself, who left his first mate behind to coordinate the rebuilding efforts. 

“...doesn’t the cabin boy usually remain on the ship or something?” asked Jade.

“Well, normally, yes,” the captain said. “But if yer’ gonna join our crew, then I need to see if yer’ made of sterner stuff!”

“I don’t want to join your crew,” Kafei said. 

“Yer’ welcome to swim back to shore, then,” Ganondorf said. 

“Nevermind…” Kafei replied. 

Maximillian said nothing. When he wasn’t trying not to lose his lunch, he had been thinking about what exactly he was doing here in the first place. Jade seemed to respect the boy more than she did Max, despite the fact that she was ostensibly his subordinate. Hell, they both seemed to respect Ganondorf more than they respected Max.

“Anyway, let’s be goin’!” Ganondorf said, taking the lead as the four of them entered the temple.

Even knowing ahead of time that the temple was mechanical in nature, it was nothing like Kafei expected. It seemed more like a factory than a place of worship, filled with narrow catwalks overlooking streams of rushing water, lit by flickering, iridescent lights. Pipes, valves and boilers of all shapes and sizes covered the walls, not unlike the pictures Kafei had seen in Lorule’s own factories. 

The pirate captain sniffed the air. “Aye… something ain’t right here,” he said. “The aether be thick in this temple. Far thicker than it was outside...”

“Aether?” Kafei asked.

“Ambient magical energy,” Jade explained. “Mana that’s just floating about in the air. Tends to attract monsters, so be on your guard.”

“Aye…” Ganondorf said, drawing his cutlass. “Step tread; I doubt we’re alone here.” The captain handed Kafei an enchanted pistol while Jade shored up the rear flank.

The inquisitor, meanwhile, was lost in his own thoughts. 

_ “I don’t get it,”  _ He grumbled mentally.  _ “Why don’t they respect me? Is it not enough that I graduated at the top of my class? Do they not appreciate the sacrifices I’ve made?” _ He clenched his fist, angry that his companions remained so ignorant. As an apparatus of the Empress’s will, an inquisitor was expected to be more than just a glorified bureaucrat; they had to be a diplomat, spymaster, and a general all rolled into one. You needed nerves of steel, a silver tongue and a heart of stone.  _ “And yet these cretins mock me at every turn. Why, if I didn’t have a use for them, I’d—-” _

Then he remembered what Hilda had told Jade.  _ “For such a brilliant mind, the man has an awful tendency to make a fool of himself.” _

He shook his head.  _ “No, she clearly must have misremembered something, or she’s lying,” _ he thought.  _ “Yes, that’s it. She’s simply got over-emotional when I mocked that fairy friend of hers. Perhaps if I apologize to her, she’ll be less hostile, and our quest can get back on track,” _ he turned to face Jade, who seemed to be preoccupied with the ceiling. “Jade…” he cleared his throat to begin, “About what I said yesterday—-”

“EVERYONE, GET DOWN!” Jade shouted, and she pushed Maximillian away just in time to avoid an amorphous shape covered in pink blobs falling from the ceiling.

“What the hell is that thing?!” Kafei screamed, as the blobs parted to reveal an enormous, cyclopean eye.

Without even thinking, Ganondorf pulled out his pistol and shot a blazing fireball at the strange beast, causing one of the pink blobs to rupture. “Not a goddamn clue,” he snarled. “But if it bleeds… we can kill it!”

The captain gleefully fired several more shots, while Jade smacked her sword against her shield, keeping the creature distracted. Kafei soon joined in himself, deciding to use his slingshot to launch razor-sharp seeds rather than risk using an unreliable, magical firearm. But as one of the blobs exploded, Kafei noticed that the metal on the catwalk became red-hot at the point of contact, and began to melt. “Jade, don’t get too close to that thing!” he shouted.

“I’ve got it covered!” Jade said, and she pulled a trigger hidden in the handle of her shield. Instantly, a wall of force briefly emerged from the shield, pushing back scorching goop, back towards creature that created it. This lead to a chain reaction, as the scalding heat burst more pustules, releasing more scalding goop, until the one-eyed creature’s raw, green flesh was exposed and blistered.

But just as Jade was about to lunge forward for the killing blow, one of the metal cables suspending the catwalk suddenly snapped, unable to withstand the heat. She stumbled and got her sash caught on the railings, spilling Opal’s bottle out of her pocket.

Max instantly leapt forward to try to save the fairy, catching the bottle just as it was about to roll off the edge.

And then the other cable snapped, causing the section of catwalk Jade and Max were standing on to collapse.

Jade flung her shield aside just in time to grab the ledge. The inquisitor wasn’t so lucky. All he could do was curl his body around Opal’s bottle as the two of them plunged into the raging current below.

**Author's Note:**

> That's it for now. I've got more written, but my friend and I are in the process of editing it, and the plan is to publish one or two chapters a week.  
> In the meantime, feel free to update [the story's TV Tropes page!](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/TheLegendOfAnju)


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